Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) revealed in its annual report yesterday that EpiPen sales in the U.S. were down $655.4 million last year compared to 2016.
The company, which faces continued backlash over the price of its emergency allergy treatment, cited the launch of a generic version of its device, higher governmental rebates and increased competition as reasons for EpiPen’s declining sales in North America.
The Canonsburg, Pa.-based company posted profits of $244.3 million, or 46¢ per share, on sales of $3.24 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, for bottom-line loss of -42% on a sales loss of -11% compared with the same period last year.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $1.43, ahead of consensus on The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $3.31 billion.
For the full year, Mylan posted profits of $696 million on sales of $11.91 billion – up 8% from 2016. MYL shares were trading at $41.66 in pre-market activity today, up 3.3%.
In August last year, Mylan inked a $465 million deal with U.S. Dept. of Justice to settle claims that it misclassified the allergy auto-injector device with the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in Oct. 2016 that Mylan had been overcharging Medicaid for its EpiPen device for years, despite being warned that it should have paid bigger rebates.
Between 2011 and 2015, Medicaid spent $797 million on the epinephrine auto-injector after deducting rebates, according to CMS. The agency revealed that Mylan misclassified the device as a generic, allowing the company to pay a 13% rebate instead of the 23% allocated for brand-name products
In response to the general outrage over EpiPen’s 500% price hike, Mylan launched a generic version of the device in Dec. 2016 which sells at $300 per two-pack – a 50% discount on the price of its branded device.
