Actress Sarah Jessica Parker ended her business relationship with the company that manufactures EpiPens after it raised the price of the drug by hundreds of dollars over the last seven years.
“I’m left disappointed, saddened and deeply concerned by Mylan’s actions,” Parker said in a statement posted to her Instagram account Thursday. “I do not condone this decision and I have ended my relationship with Mylan as a direct result of it.”
Parker has a 13-year-old son who suffers from severe peanut and hazelnut allergies. The Sex in the City actress had participated in a short campaign with pharmaceutical giant Mylan N.V., the company that manufactures EpiPens, which is used to treat severe allergic reactions.
In 2007, an EpiPen cost roughly $60, compared to the current $608 price of a twin pack today.
“I hope they will seriously reconsider the outpouring of voices of those millions of people who are dependent on the device, and take swift action to lower the cost to be more affordable for whom it is a life-saving necessity,” Parker wrote.
The pharmaceutical company and the chief executive of Mylan, Heather Bresch, have been under fire after reports surfaced this week about the fourfold price increase of the drug.
In an attempt to appease its critics, Mylan announced Thursday it would offer discounts and coupons covering up to $300 for the EpiPen “for patients in health plans who face higher out-of-pocket costs.”
Unapologetic about the drug’s profit-driven price hike, Bresch told the New York Times:”I think we mean what we say: You can do good and do well, and I think we strike that balance around the globe.”
“I am running a business,” Bresch added. “I am a for-profit business. I am not hiding from that.”
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson
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