The EpiPen is a critical and potentially lifesaving device for people with severe allergies. The drug the pen carries, epinephrine, helps loosen up the muscles that close up a person’s airways during an allergic reaction. A crucial device like the EpiPen should be widely accessible to people everywhere, but the dramatic increase in the price of the EpiPen has caused a lot of outrage recently. According to CNN, the price of the EpiPen has steadily increased to $600 for a two pack, up from around $100 in 2009. The steep price has resulted in many people fearing for their lives. To make matters worst, the shelf life of epinephrine isn’t very long. It lasts only 18 months after it is manufactured, making users constantly having to restock their stockpile of EpiPens.
A lifesaving device like the EpiPen should not be on the verge of unaffordability. Everyone should have the right to have affordable and easy access to something that, in a worst-case scenario, could potentially be the difference between life and death. All people should be able to have a strong sense of security, especially when it comes to their lives. Big companies shouldn’t have the power to risk other people’s lives for a profit.
The government needs to start some sort of price regulation on certain lifesaving drugs, such as epinephrine.There needs to be price cuts and benefits that will make these kinds of medicine more affordable. There is a debate that less money towards pharmaceutical companies will only slow the advancement in medicine and technology, but there needs to be some sort of compromise to keep our momentum forward in innovative science and to ensure the lives of those who were born with life-threatening allergies.
The hefty price tag on the EpiPen curbs the abilities of many people to buy what is essentially their lifeline. Without the EpiPen, they’re much more vulnerable to death and serious injury. Even when some people can scrape together enough money to buy a two pack of EpiPens, the short shelf life of epinephrine requires them to constantly buy more. More needs to be done to ensure the safety and lives of all.
