Recently the company that manufactures the EpiPen, a lifesaving medication, has dramatically increased the price of their products, leaving those with severe allergies extremely shocked. With the price of one EpiPen increasing by 500% over the last decade, many families who depend on this critical medication have been left without an answer.

The epinephrine injection, most commonly known by the name as EpiPen, is an injection that is most commonly used in a desperate time of an allergic reaction. The at-home injection allows for blood pressure to increase, swelling to reduce, and muscles to relax in the lungs to control any uneasy breathing. With countless of valuable uses, the EpiPen is vital to many and their health.

“It is absolutely ridiculous,” an anonymous source said. “I am very angry and upset over the price increase for so many reasons. Particularly, because I have a loved one with numerous severe food allergies. The cost hurts our finances and I know we are not alone. Many people in this world need [an EpiPen], but cannot have it since they cannot afford it.”

The price to make and produce an EpiPen is thirty dollars, however EpiPen companies are selling the medical supply for six hundred dollars. With this increase in price, those with insurance are now paying approximately two hundred to four hundred dollars.

Registered school nurse Angela Baird who has been in a situation requiring her to use an EpiPen several times in the past said, “I think it’s unfortunate that a lot of parents can’t afford that medication,” regarding the significant cost increase of the EpiPen.

“I feel like this will cause many unnecessary deaths,” an anonymous source said.

The nonavailability of the EpiPen will threaten lives and spread worldwide panic in families for those who have severe allergies and can no longer afford the medication necessary to save their lives.

“I have a friend who has needed to use an EpiPen when she had an allergy attack,” an anonymous source said. “If she does not use an EpiPen, she would go into anaphylactic shock, but right now she does not have an EpiPen since she cannot afford it.”

This is not the first time a critical life saving medicine has seen price gouging. In 2015, Martin Shkreli raised the price of Daraprim, an antimalarial drug, from thirteen dollars and fifty cents to seven hundred dollars per tablet once he acquired the company which manufactured the drug.

The healthcare industry should strive to help and care for people. Instead, it is a industry built solely on greed by people without ethics or a conscience to aid those who are at risk.

*Due to the sensitive nature of this article, some sources will remain anonymous. Editorial Staff