A Generic EpiPen Coming in Early 2019 Could Save You Money

For an incredibly common, life-saving medication, EpiPens (epinephrine auto-injectors) are surprisingly difficult for many consumers to get ahold of. Their cost has skyrocketed in recent years from less than $100 for a pack of two to more than $600. They’ve gotten so expensive that some EMTs have resorted to using syringes to manually administer epinephrine rather than purchasing the standard auto-injectors, which are almost exclusively made by the pharmaceutical company Mylan. Generic options have been slow to come to market, but according to Business Insider, a recently approved EpiPen rival is coming in the first few months of 2019, and it could save consumers a significant chunk of change.

The drug’s developers have had an unusually hard time getting the new EpiPen alternative, called Symjepi, onto store shelves. The drug was approved in 2017, but the company, Adamis Pharmaceuticals, had trouble finding investors. Now, Novartis, the Swiss-based pharmaceutical giant that manufactures drugs like Ritalin, is releasing the drug through its Sandoz division (perhaps most famous for it role in discovering LSD in the 1930s).

Symjepi will cost $250 out-of-pocket for a pack of two doses. That’s 16.6 percent less than the Mylan-authorized generic EpiPen or Teva’s generic EpiPen, which both sell for $300. It differs a bit from its rivals, though, in that it’s a pre-filled, single-dose syringe rather than a spring-loaded auto-injector. Auto-injectors are plastic, pen-like devices that keep the needle shielded until the moment of injection, and are specifically designed to help make it easier for untrained (even squeamish) people to use in an emergency. With this version, patients will need to remove a needle cap and inject the needle. Just like the EpiPen, though, it’s designed to be injected in the upper thigh, through clothing if necessary.

If you have health insurance, the difference in cost may not matter as much for you as a consumer, depending on your plan. (I personally picked up a two-pack of Mylan-authorized generic Epipens at CVS recently for $0, using a manufacturer’s Epipen coupon to knock down what would have been a $10 copay.) But it will matter considerably for those with high-deductible plans and to insurers, which, when faced with high costs, eventually pass those costs on to the consumer either through higher co-pays or higher premiums. It also affects agencies that buy EpiPens for emergency use, like local fire departments. And since EpiPens expire after just a year, the costs add up.

However, there’s currently a shortage of EpiPens on the market, according to the FDA, making it more important than ever to have other epinephrine drugs available to those at risk for serious allergic reactions.