Submitted by Giblin-Colleen on Apr 29, 2024
I like to tie this case to two other price hikes: A competitor to Mylan, Kaleo, sells both an epinepherine auto-injector (AUVI-Q) that gives voice instructions AND a similar concept for Naloxone, called Evzio, which can save people from an opiod overdose (there's an outstanding Leslie Stahl 60 minutes piece from November 2018). Both are insanely overpriced. Students tend to be even more familiar with Martin Shkreli (there's a great episode of the podcast "American Greed" on him) who raised the price of a life-saving drug from under $15 a pill to over $750 a pill. Those additional examples paired with this Mylan case really help probe students' arguments, particularly about the ethics of charging based on what consumers are willing to pay in matters of life and death. The voice-instructions undeniably add value for certain populations who may be anxious or unable to read standard instructions in an emergency. I like to press students on what other ways the firms could seek to add value once their patents run out and generics become available. Overall, the competitive environments in each of these scenarios must be reflected on to understand the product positioning and the perceived value of generic vs. name brand. The underlying ethical themes make this case a keeper.