A pill is just a pill, and the FDA accepts many generic drugs as substitutes for the name brand version. But an epipen is not just an epinephrine injector it is

A pill is just a pill, and the FDA accepts many generic drugs as substitutes for the name brand version. But an epipen is not just an epinephrine injector it is, itself, a medical device, and until now your prescription for an "epipen" wouldn't allow you to get a substitute device. Consider the scenarios here. How would someone get a prescription for a non "EpiPen" epinephrine injector? They would have to be very savvy with access to a doctor as well as incredibly price conscious. They would have to convince their doctor to write a prescription for a specific other device. All of which is a very unlikely chain of events.