PP 004 The Mylan Rant & Alexander Fitzwilliam Hamilton

Rob RANTS about Big Pharma and Mylan, sellers of epipen, and reveals the shocking connection between Alexander Hamilton and Jane Austen. Plus stitch cutters and anemia, all brought to you by the Republic of Palau!

BIG PHARMA has done amazing things led by many dedicated, selfless individuals BUT soaring drug costs coupled with huge BIG PHARMA profits, fueled by direct consumer marketing and venture capital money, is indefensible. Drug costs are rising more than any other segment of our healthcare industry while BIG PHARMA profits outstrip the rest of healthcare. The winner of our first Podcast Pediatricians rant is Mylan Pharmaceuticals and its CEO Heather Bresch, owners of EpiPen, the branded epinephrine autoinjector that they did not invent. EpiPens treat life threatening allergic reactions in children. Follow this excruciatingly long saga of Mylan greed, incestuous anti-competitive behavior, political nepotism, and incredible price gouging for a device that they buy from an outside manufacturer for less than $35. We then detail Mylan’s shortchanging of Medicaid, staggering compensation packages for its top brass, tax inversion to the Netherlands, allegations of price fixing for its generic products, and a scheme to remove any modicum of price checks. We give some suggestions on alternatives to EpiPens and some national reforms to rein in Big Pharma that should be considered. Then we drop the April 1^st Lin-Manuel Miranda bombshell.

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at podcastpediatricians.com

PP 004 Shownotes