Lets make an essay that answers this prompt: o what extent has the exorbitant price of Epi-pens been ethically and economically adequate? Every body paragraph should link back to this prompt and the thesis as well. First make an intro that talks about MIlans history with the drug and the 2016 problems. Here is the data: Each year about 3.6 million Americans are prescribed EpiPen, the epinephrine auto-injector. The EpiPen is a life-saving treatment for anaphylactic reactions, which are caused by allergens such as nuts, seafood, and insect bites. A sharp increase in EpiPen’s price between 2009 and 2016 caused outrage, and prompted debate over whether Mylan N.V, the owner of EpiPen, acted unethically. Beyond the behaviour of Mylan, EpiPen’s price increases raise questions about the conditions of the US pharmaceutical market, and whether existing regulations and laws are sufficient to protect consumers.

Epipen Price Increases
In 2007, Mylan N.V. acquired the right to market EpiPen as part of its acquisition of Merck KgaA. In 2009, Mylan began to steadily increase the price of EpiPen. In 2009, the wholesale price (the price which pharmacies paid) was $103.50 for a two-pack of autoinjectors. By July 2013 the price was up to $264.50, and it rose a further 75 percent to $461 by May of 2015. By May of 2016, the price rose again up to $608.61. Over a seven year period, the price of EpiPen had risen about 500% in total.
In the summer of 2016, the Mylan EpiPen pricing crisis broke into public consciousness and for months
dominated public discourse about the importance of governance, transparency and ethics in business and society. It
brought a renewed focus on corporate governance, the system of checks and balances that seeks to make corporate
boards and management accountable and ensure that they operate in the interest of their stakeholders (Ragas & Culp,
2014). The crisis also brought attention to the potential impact of governance on stakeholders of public corporations and
challenged Mylan to defend its corporate governance principles. Known for its leadership in the global generics and
specialty pharma sector, Mylan N.V. is a pharmaceutical company that prides itself on its vision of setting new standards in
health, improving access to life-saving medications and maintaining an enduring commitment to excellence in corporate
governance (Mylan.com, 2015).
In 2007, Mylan acquired the EpiPen, a medical device that is used to treat anaphylactic shock or life-threatening
allergic reactions (Czarneki, 2016). After the acquisition, the company became known for its marketing drive to create
awareness about the dangers of allergic reactions and for its lobbying efforts to make the EpiPen available in every home
and school. However, in August 2016, Mylan came under public scrutiny after users of the EpiPen and their families began
to speak up about the constantly rising price of the life-saving drug. Between 2007 and 2016 the price of a 2-pack EpiPen
rose from $100 to over $600 (Ramsey, 2016). Executive compensation at Mylan also rose, with the salary of Heather
Bresch, its CEO, rising by 670% to $18.9 million in 2015 (Maremont, 2016).
The situation led to a congressional hearing and the company’s CEO, Heather Bresch, was invited to present the
position of her company on the price increases. In response, Mylan maintained its stance on the fairness of the price
increases but announced that it would offer a generic version of the EpiPen at $300 per pen and give a discount to families
who cannot afford the drug based on their family income levels (Bomey, 2016). Meanwhile, the EpiPen crisis and the
resultant Congressional hearing had already put a searchlight on Mylan’s corporate governance standards, especially in
relation to fair pricing, transparency, disclosure, fair competition, executive compensation and generally acceptable
accounting principles. So how well did Mylan fare in keeping its corporate decisions in alignment with its corporate
governance policy? The following case study analyzes the important role of corporate governance in sustaining trust,
credibility, accountability, and profitability for Mylan and its potential effects on the company’s relationship with its various
stakeholders.
1.1 | Company History with EpiPen
Mylan was established in 1961, when two US Army colleagues, Milan “Mike” Puskar and Don Panoz decided to
start selling medical supplies to doctors and pharmacists from the back of a Pontiac car in White Sulfur Springs, Virginia.
From those humble beginnings, Mylan has come a long way. Today, it is a leader in the global generics and specialty
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pharmaceutical sector with sales operations in over 165 countries and territories. Originally known as Milan, the company
grew to become a global player with a 35,000-strong workforce that strives to provide access to high quality medicine to
over 7 billion people across the globe (Mylan.com, 2015). It has 39 manufacturing facilities in 10 countries and offers
several name brand medications as well as over 1,400 generic pharmaceuticals (Mylan.com, 2015).
One of Mylan’s most recognized specialty products is the EpiPen (epinephrine injection, USP), an auto-injector
which is used in cases of emergency life-threatening allergic reactions or anaphylaxis. The device was first invented for
use by the military, EpiPen was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987 (Ramsey, 2016). After
multiple change of hands, it was acquired by Mylan in 2007 from Merck KGaA. At the time, the EpiPen logged $200 million
in revenue (Koons & Langreth, 2015). When new federal guidelines were set in place in 2010, Mylan stopped the sales of
single pens and switched to twin-packs. Up to that point, 35% of patients were prescribed single EpiPens. The U.S. FDA
also changed the label rules so that EpiPen could be marketed to anyone at risk of an anaphylaxis reaction, rather than
just those with a history of it. This was a major benefit to those at risk and is also was an easy method for Mylan to get the
word out about the EpiPen.
1.2 | Mylan’s Mission, Vision and CSR Stance
In its mission statement, Mylan emphasizes its commitment to setting new standards in healthcare, social
responsibility, service excellence, improved access to medicines and global leadership in innovation. It states, “Doing
what’s right is sacred to us. We behave responsibly, even when nobody’s looking. We set high standards from which we
never back down. This uncompromising ethical stance helps to keep our products pure, our workers safe and the
environment clean” (Mylan.com, 2015). Speaking about Mylan’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), its CEO, Heather
Bresch said, “We weigh every decision we make with the utmost care, asking ourselves how it might affect all of our
stakeholders, including patients, customers, employees, communities, vendors, creditors and investors. Indeed, chances
are that you, or someone you care about, has a stake in Mylan’s success” (Mylan, 2015a).
According to its CSR report, Mylan says it performs audits to ensure that its governance processes are in line
with the company’s policies, laws and regulations, and it evaluates the implementation and maintenance of such policies
while looking for opportunities for improvement. Mylan has several programs set in place for monitoring business activity.
Mylan routes all contracts dealing with healthcare providers and government officials to its Office of Global Compliance
(OGC) and legal department to conduct due diligence on behalf of the parties involved (Mylan, 2015b). It provides vendors
that “may interact with government officials on [their] behalf with anti-corruption training. Since 2007, Mylan employees and
third parties have completed more than 20,000 anti-corruption training sessions” (Mylan, 2015a, p. 11, para 4). Write only the intro and another paragraph explaining the mission and vision of MYlan, stop there