Mylan Tapped for More Information on EpiPen Price Figures

A U.S. House committee sent a letter to Mylan NV demanding a fuller explanation of why the company omitted key information it used to calculate the profit figure for the lifesaving EpiPen drug that its chief executive provided during a Congressional hearing last month.

Mylan has been under fire for raising the price of EpiPen, which treats allergic reactions, by 550% to $608 for a two-pack of injectors since Mylan acquired the product in 2007. At a Sept. 21 hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that was called to examine the price hikes, Mylan Chief Executive Heather Bresch testified that the company's profit was $100 per two-pack.

But Mylan last week clarified that figure and said operating profit was about 60% higher than what it told Congress—or about $166 before taxes—because the $100 figure reflected taxes based on the U.S. statutory rate of 37.5%. Mylan, which has a much lower overall tax rate, provided the additional information after questions from The Wall Street Journal.

House committee leaders, in a letter to Ms. Bresch dated Sept. 30 and released Monday, said her testimony "omitted key tax assumptions that affect the company's profit per pack." They said the omission "raises questions." The letter was signed by committee chairman Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D., Md.). They noted that a Mylan graphic presented at the hearing summarized EpiPen profitability and made no mention of the tax assumption Mylan used to calculate it.

The committee leaders asked for a range of documents from Mylan in 18 categories "to help us understand the manner by which Mylan prepared and provided information to the Committee and the pricing of the EpiPen."

They include: all documents related to sales, profits, costs, manufacturing and distribution of the product; those related to Ms. Bresch's preparation for the committee hearing; documents about Mylan's tax rates since 2007; and documents about whether Mylan plans to try to extend market exclusivity for EpiPen.

The committee asked for the documents by Oct. 7.

A Mylan spokeswoman said: "We remain committed to productive and continued cooperation with the Committee, and we intend to respond to their request for additional information."

Write to Peter Loftus at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 03, 2016 15:05 ET (19:05 GMT)

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