To keep EpiPen sales up, Mylan threatened states, sued making bogus claims

Enlarge / Mylan Inc. CEO Heather Bresch testifies during a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee September 21, 2016 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (credit: Getty | Alex Wong)

Pharmaceutical company Mylan sued West Virginia in 2015 to keep its EpiPens on the state's "preferred drug list," which, if successful, would mean that the state's Medicaid programs would have to automatically pay for the pricey epinephrine auto-injectors.

The bold and unusual move by Mylan-which ultimately failed-is yet another example of the aggressive marketing and legal tactics the company used to boost profits from EpiPens, which halt life-threatening allergic reactions. Since Mylan acquired rights to EpiPen in 2007, the company raised its price by more than 400 percent. Mylan also allegedly made illegal deals with schools to undercut competitors and allegedly scammed federal and state regulators out of millions in rebates by knowingly misclassifying the device.

Last year, EpiPen's sales and expanded markets brought in more than $1 billion in revenue for Mylan. The company's CEO, Heather Bresch, is one of the highest-paid CEOs in the industry, earning nearly $19 million annually.

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