Update: West Virgina Senator Joe Manchin responds to Epipen price hike

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WDTV) --Controversy surrounding the price hike of EpiPens hits close to home for many Monongalia County residents.

Senator Joe Manchin calls Mylan the "heart and soul of Morgantown."

Senator Manchin is just now speaking out about the issues surrounding one of West Virginia's biggest companies and his own daughter.

5 News met with the senator on Saturday to talk about the backlash.

"This isn't an EpiPen issue," Heather Bresch, Mylan CEO, said. "This isn't a Mylan issue. This is a healthcare issue."

Bresch has been under fire since the price of EpiPens skyrocketed.

Families across the country are lashing out at Mylan for charging such a high price for a life saving medication.

United States Senator Joe Manchin-- and the father of Bresch-- shares some of their concerns.

In a statement released yesterday, Senator Manchin says he is looking forward to reviewing Mylan's response in detail following comprehensive answers to many of the questions being asked.

But what are Senator Manchin's opinions on the controversy surrounding his daughter?

"Her heart is pure as can be and she's the most generous person i know," Senator Manchin said. "She helps every one that she can. She's very compassionate about all her fellow workers and she loves West Virginia, so I just tell her to be who she is. I said, 'You know the facts will come out.'"

Senator Manchin, like his daughter, believe the price of EpiPens is not just a Mylan problem. He's asking Congress and American citizens to look at the other entities involved in the pharmaceutical drugs industry.

"You know, what people should be asking is why are prescription drugs so costly?" Senator Manchin said. "All of them. And with that being said, on the EpiPen controversy, it sells for $608. Everyone's been lead to believe that Mylan gets all $608. Mylan gets $274."

While the backlash may continue, Senator Manchin remains supportive and believes his daughter, along with Mylan, will resolve these issues with consumers in mind.

"I'm very proud of her continuing to work hard and face the critics that she's facing and bring the facts out and be looking for changes that's going to help everybody," Senator Manchin said. That's what she'll continue to do and she'll find a pathway for it."

LEWISBURG, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The Epipen price hike is getting reaction around the country.

Friday U.S. Senator Joe Manchin was at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg.

When asked by a reporter about the Epipen price hike, he said he's going to be looking into it, and acknowledged that it's too high for the average family.

The senator's daughter, Heather Bresch is the CEO of Mylan, which manufactures Epipens.

Senator Manchin was also confronted about his ties to the company and the campaign contributions he's received from Mylan.

He pointed out that the company is one of West Virginia's biggest employers, and how he's happy to have their support.

But when asked whether the contributions were a conflict of interest, he said no.

"Not at all," said Manchin, "I'm not going to do anything differently than I've done. Basically the people can support anybody in public arena. The bottom line is, you owe your allegiance to your constituents."

NEW YORK (WSAZ) -- The drug company which hiked the price of EpiPens more than 400 percent over the last decade is caving to some pressure, but not backing down.

The pharmaceutical company Mylan announced Thursday that it will cut costs for patients up to $300 by expanding a savings card program.

But CEO Heather Bresch, also the daughter of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D), blamed a broken system and others for the high prices. When she was pressed, she refused to pledge that more price hikes wouldn't be coming at some future date.

Bresch went on CNBC Thursday morning trying to control the damage of the headlines that EpiPens, a pair which sold for $94 less than a decade ago, now have a list price of $608. It’s a product which is virtually unchanged.

Over the same time, Bresch's salary has gone up $16 million, an increase of nearly 700 percent.

"The price goes from $50 to $500-$600 today and you're making $18 million a year,” said CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in the interview with Bresch. “You understand how that looks?"

"Brian, look, I understand better than facts are inconvenient to headlines," she replied.

Over the course of the 19-minute interview, Bresch was unrepentant, saying the health care system is in a crisis. She said it’s a bubble, like the mortgage crisis, is ready to burst. That's because patients are paying twice, through higher drug prices and through higher insurance deductibles.

"It was never intended that consumers, that the patients, would be paying list price, never,” Bresch said. “The system wasn't built for that."

Of the $608 list price, Bresch points to numbers which show Mylan gets $274 per pair of EpiPens. Other middle men, like insurers and pharmacies, get more than half, taking $334.

"Generic products, it works very differently in the system than brand products,” she said. “The system incentivizes higher prices on the brand. If you don't play in the system, in the system that's broken today, your products aren't going to get to patients because of the lives covered by all the middle men we just talked about."

Because of recent legislation, Bresch said the company has stocked 65,000 public schools with more than 700,000 EpiPens for free for when kids have a sudden allergic reaction, sometimes for kids who didn't even know they had an allergy.

But even as Sullivan estimated the unit cost of making an EpiPen at just $3, Bresch refused to say that all price hikes were in the past.

"Look, we are going to continue to run a business,” she said. “We're going to continue to meet supply and demand of what's out there."

While it's cheaper now for low-income folks to buy EpiPens, it will be just as expensive for insurance companies and employers.

As WSAZ told you Wednesday, Cabell County EMS now tries to give the drug using a syringe to save a significant amount of money, although it continues to stock the product.

Bresch said Congress needs to get involved. Meanwhile, several Senators, including the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have sent letters to her demanding answers.

After several days of silence, her father Sen. Joe Manchin (D) finally released a statement, one that doesn't mention his daughter by name. He declined to go on camera with WSAZ Thursday.

Here is his statement:

"I am aware of the questions my colleagues and many parents are asking and frankly I share their concerns about the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. Today I heard Mylan's initial response, and I am sure Mylan will have a more comprehensive and formal response to those questions‎. I look forward to reviewing their response in detail and working with my colleagues and all interested parties to lower the price of prescription drugs and to continue to improve our health care system."

NEW YORK (WSAZ & AP) – U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., released a statement about the ongoing scrutiny of pharmaceutical giant Mylan after massive price hikes of its popular EpiPen.

Manchin, whose daughter Heather Bresch is the CEO of Mylan, made the following statement Thursday:

"I am aware of the questions my colleagues and many parents are asking and frankly I share their concerns about the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. Today I heard Mylan's initial response, and I am sure Mylan will have a more comprehensive and formal response to those questions‎. I look forward to reviewing their response in detail and working with my colleagues and all interested parties to lower the price of prescription drugs and to continue to improve our health care system."

Many people who suffer from severe allergic reactions use the EpiPen in emergencies.

The price of the two-dose package topped $600 earlier this year, up from about $94 just nine years ago according to a price-tracking database. And the increase has drawn anger from Congress and from families that have to pay for it.

Bresch also spoke about the controversy during an interview Thursday morning on CNBC with co-anchor Brian Sullivan.

"The price goes from $50 to $500 to $600 today, and you're making $18 million a year. You understand how that looks?" Sullivan asked.

"Brian, look, I understand better that facts are inconvenient to headlines," Bresch responded. "Well I think we responded this morning first and foremost, insuring that everybody who needs an EpiPen has an EpiPen. As a mother I can assure you the last thing we would ever want is no one to have their EpiPen due to price."

She went on to say, “My frustration is there's a list price of $608. There is a system -- I laid out that there are four or five hands that the product touches and companies that it goes through before it ever gets to that patient at the counter. No one -- everybody should be frustrated. I am hoping that this is an inflection point for this country. our health care is in a crisis. It's no different than the mortgage financial crisis back in 2007.”

Mylan announced that it was doubling the eligibility for its patient assistance program to people with incomes four times higher than the federal poverty level.

"It was never intended that consumers, that the patients, would be paying list price, never. The system wasn't built for that," Bresch said during the CNBC interview.

One health researcher says insurers and employers will keep having to pay the higher price, and that it will be reflected in higher premiums. Sabrina Corlette of Georgetown University says, "Everybody suffers, except the Mylan investors."

Hillary Clinton and members of Congress from both parties have quickly ramped up criticism of the company and its pricing.

EpiPens are used in emergencies to treat severe allergies that can lead to anaphylactic shock. Roughly 40 million Americans have severe allergies to spider bites, bee stings and foods like nuts, eggs and shellfish.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mylan, now in the crosshairs over severe price hikes for its EpiPen, says it will expand programs that lower out-of-pocket costs by as much as half.

Mylan N.V. said Thursday that the patient cost will be reduced through a savings card that will cover up to $300 for an EpiPen 2-Pak.

The company said it's also doubling eligibility for its patient assistance program, which it said will get rid of out-of-pocket costs for uninsured and underinsured patients and families.

Patients will also be able to order the injected emergency medicine for severe allergic reactions directly from the company, to help lower costs.

Mylan has hiked prices for EpiPen as frequently as three times a year over the past nine years. The list price for a two-pack is more than $600.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is the father of Mylan CEO Heather Bresch. He released the following statement on Thursday:

"I am aware of the questions my colleagues and many parents are asking and frankly I share their concerns about the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. Today I heard Mylan's initial response, and I am sure Mylan will have a more comprehensive and formal response to those questions‎. I look forward to reviewing their response in detail and working with my colleagues and all interested parties to lower the price of prescription drugs and to continue to improve our health care system."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - As a pharmaceutical company run by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin's daughter faces scrutiny for hiking prices on life-saving allergy injection pens, Manchin is remaining mum.

The Democratic West Virginia senator's daughter, Heather Bresch, is CEO of Mylan, which manufactures EpiPens.

A two-dose package cost around $94 nine years ago. The cost averaged more than six times that in May.

Manchin spokesman Jonathan Kott said Wednesday the senator had no comment.

Several senators are demanding more information and requesting congressional hearings and investigations.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Mylan for possible antitrust violations.

Hillary Clinton, whom Manchin has endorsed for president, called the increase "outrageous."

A Mylan statement Tuesday cited health insurance changes with higher deductible costs for many.