Mylan CEO sees faster drug approvals, cheaper generics with FDA Chief Gottlieb
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said on Tuesday putting the EpiPen price gouging controversy behind has allowed the company to focus on launching generic versions of drugs.
The company reached a $465 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in August to resolve claims that the company overcharged the government for its EpiPen emergency allergy medication, which became the center of the controversy due to price gouging. Even so, Bresch said the issue is still a major problem for consumers.
“It’s at a terrible inflection point and it’s not sustainable,” Bresch told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria.” “Every pharmaceutical company is negotiating and paying rebates into the system and the problem is they are not translated … they are not being transferred to that patient.”
Since moving on from the controversy, the company has shifted its focus on launching generic versions of drugs. Mylan received FDA approval in October for a generic version of Teva’s (NYSE:TEVA) multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone and anticipates more support on the first approval a generic form of GlaxoSmithKline’s (NYSE:GSK) Advair. Bresch said FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb has helped speed up the approval process.
“He really had a focus on complex generics and he has very much lived up to what his goals were when he came into the FDA,” she said. “We’ve seen definitely, not only a rise in generic approvals overall, but we’ve seen a nice uptick in the focus on complex generics.”