3 ms·
There is no monopoly. Many other epi autoinjectors have entered the market, and were withdrawn - or have clung on without many people know they even exist... P
by dfsegoat 8y ago
There is no monopoly. Many other epi autoinjectors have entered the market, and were withdrawn - or have clung on without many people know they even exist...
People forget there is also a human factors element:
If the pen is not easy to use, it could lead to an inability to deliver the medication simply because the person can't read the directions while their airway is closing up.
For instance: 1 pen on the market now has a speaker built into the pen which gives voice directions for anyone to be able to administer a dosage to someone who needs it [0].
If the pen mechanism itself is not robust, and delivers inadequate or overdosages - then this is also bad, and is also where other competitors have failed [1].
The EpiPen itself is actually a bit of a work of art because it gets most of these things right on - this is why they've dominated.
0 - https://www.auvi-q.com/ https://www.auvi-q.com/
1 - http://www.twinject.com/ http://www.twinject.com/
- maxerickson 8y agoEpiPen was literally granted market exclusivity by the FDA, there was a government enforced monopoly on the particular mechanism, one which was granted on what, as far as I can tell, was a superficial improvement to the safety cap. Mylan continues to try to restore their exclusive rights. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/patent_info.cfm?Product_No=001&Appl_No=019430&Appl_type=N https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/patent_info.c...
- dfsegoat 8y agoI think you are misunderstanding "Market Exclusivity" vs. monopoly: Yes the EpiPen mechanism is patented, and people cannot knock it off directly - this is not a monopoly, because competitors have been allowed to create new designs for a long time. [1] The fact that Auvi-Q, TwinJect and many other Epi-autoinjectors are allowed on the market as New Drug Applications (Non-generic) shows us that the FDA has allowed healthy competition from other Autoinjector designs -- they simply have not been as effective, safe or simple to use, leaving EpiPen as the standard. 1- https://www.fda.gov/drugs/developmentapprovalprocess/ucm079031.htm#What_is_the_difference_between_patents_a https://www.fda.gov/drugs/developmentapprovalprocess/ucm0790...
- maxerickson 8y agoYeah, thanks for telling me I misunderstand it. It's not an economic monopoly, but (at least in the case of the EpiPen) it's bad regulation with similar impact.