An Ohio woman on Tuesday filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc in an Ohio county court, claiming sharp price hikes for the company's EpiPen device violated the state's consumer protection law.
Mylan has raised the U.S. price of EpiPen, which is used to treat life-threatening allergies, from less than $100 when it acquired the product in 2007 to more than $600, drawing criticism from parents, consumer groups and U.S. politicians.
EpiPen automatically injects a dose of the drug epinephrine into the thigh to counter dangerous allergic reactions such as to peanuts, food allergies and bee stings. It has a 94 percent share of the market for such auto-injector devices.
Tuesday's lawsuit was filed in the Court of Common Pleas for Hamilton County, Ohio, by Cincinnati resident Linda Bates, whose son requires an EpiPen.
A Mylan spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
“The outrageous, unconscionable and immoral high prices set by Defendant is nothing more than price gouging,” the complaint says.
It says the price increases violated the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, which prohibits “unconscionable” acts in connection with consumer transactions, including taking advantage of a consumer’s “physical infirmities.”
Bates is seeking to represent a class of individuals in Ohio who purchased EpiPens from 2007 the present.
New York's attorney general said on Tuesday he is investigating whether Mylan violated antitrust laws in its contracts to provide EpiPens to some school systems.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Dan Grebler)