Mylan N. V is a pharmaceutical company that is the only producer of safe, FDA-approved self-injecting epinephrine pens (EpiPens) in the country. From 2009 to 2016, the price of two of their EpiPens increased from just over $100 to over $600 and the price continues to remain just over $600 today. As a monopoly with no federal regulation and a product that more than 3.6 million people rely on, Mylan could raise its price as much as it sees fit and still entice thousands of people to buy its product. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Mylan is acting in a socially irresponsible and frankly inhumane manner by taking advantage of this fact and participating in a clear case of price gouging. Those with lower economic status are now forced to choose between sacrificing a significant portion of their income or risking an allergic reaction that could end their lives. It is the right of every individual, regardless of their economic situation, to have easy access to products that could potentially save their life. No individual, much less a corporation, has the right to consciously alter a person's chances of survival. Mylan and MonopolyMylan takes advantage of its monopolistic position in the market and exploits its customers by charging predatory prices. Looking through the history of Mylan and its competitors, the company has never had more than one significant competitor in the United States during its lifetime. A competitor known as Sanofi emerged in the late 2000s and it was hoped that the competition would act as a preventative measure against future price increases. When Sanofi was forced to withdraw its product by the FDA in 2012, Mylan, counterintuitively to usual market behavior, significantly increased its prices. Sanofi later launched another EpiPen-like product called "Auvi-Q" to compete with Mylan, and this was also recalled in October 2015. In recent years, Teva Pharmaceuticals participated in the production of a prototype but continues to be delayed by the FDA. A current competitor is a company known as Adrenaclick. This company offers a significantly cheaper pen that sells for $142 at select Walmart stores. However, the product is "rarely recommended by major medical companies because its two caps that must be removed (unlike that of EpiPen) are considered impractical." Adrenaclick also sells $10 syringes at some CVS locations, but these are also discouraged by medical professionals because of possible complications from the injection not being administered by trained professionals. As is evident, the barriers to entry into this market are extremely high. The company and its team recognized this, as well as the fact that the need for EpiPens is so great that they could exploit that need and make a greater profit through a price increase. When there is only one producer of a safe product that could save the life of your son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, friend or your own life, you will go to extreme lengths for this. Vialet De Montbel is an example of an individual who relies heavily on Mylan EpiPens. She buys them to protect her son who is so severely allergic to milk; so much so that he has to wear a mask in public. For two packs of two EpiPens, she paid a hefty price of $1,212, which she says is a higher price than her mortgage. This type of spendingfor her, and for most, is not viable. There is no argument against the idea that this is indeed a case of price gouging. Mylan attempted to combat such claims by adding a generic version of the product at half price. This option is still three times more expensive than the price of the original product in 2009 and remains a high price. Mylan didn't technically break any laws, and they would still provide free EpiPens to schools. However, millions of people still rely on the immediate use of EpiPens. The economist John Maynard Keynes said that “. . . Even if these price increases only occur in the short term, some of these patients could also die in the short term. . . ". Does the future look bright? No matter how much backlash they receive, it appears that the Mylan team will continue to exploit their customers unethically as long as they remain in their current position. Mylan has no incentive to act in a socially responsible manner because they are not in competition with anyone and their actions have not had significant consequences. This is where we need to make a call to action. No company should have the right to sacrifice possible lives to make a greater profit. Federations must begin to regulate monopolistic companies in a way that prohibits them from raising prices to astronomical amounts. Mylan's product is in most cases the first attack against an allergic reaction and, depending on the severity of the allergy, the first and last. Some people have allergies so extreme that they need a shot within a minute of an allergy attack. If they can't afford Mylan's product, there is a slim chance of survival. One change that could be implemented would be to limit their profit margins. Another option would be to offer significantly higher discounts to disadvantaged people who need this product. They could also cap the price in general, offer one free pen per family, offer free pens to disadvantaged people with extremely severe allergies, or take steps to lower barriers to market entry. A final idea would be to increase funding for the FDA. The FDA is severely underfunded, which is part of the reason why barriers to entry are so high in this and other pharmaceutical markets. If more competitors entered the market, competition would theoretically lower prices to much more reasonable levels. There are many avenues the government could take to ease the pressure on those who need EpiPens. These price hikes must have some repercussions, because many pharmaceutical companies are also taking a cue from Mylan to raise the prices of their products. Mylan's price increases have produced both positive and negative effects for the company and, overall, have not had as many negative financial effects. effects as might be expected. Mylan's price increase was highlighted in August 2016, and in September of that year, an investigation into EpiPen prices was conducted by the U.S. Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits, and Rules administrative. The hearing took place on September 21, 2016, and Mylan CEO Heather Bresch testified against the significant price increases. Mylan.” . . agreed to pay $465 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it falsely misclassified EpiPen to overbill Medicaid.” Yet the company claimed it had done nothing wrong. In the two weeks following the hearing, between September 22, 2016 and September 7,.