Justifying EpiPen pricing, once again

I enjoyed Medical hackers create $30 DIY EpiPen in defiance of corporate greed over at inhabitat. The Four Thieves Vinegar collective cobbled together an "EpiPencil" from an auto injector for insulin, a hypodermic needle, and epinepherine. It's a pretty cool trick but it proves nothing about EpiPen pricing nor does it help real patients.Actually, it unwittingly reinforces the points I made in my very unpopular EpiPen may still be too cheap post, which is that the pricing of EpiPen has almost nothing to do with the cost of its parts.Consider these caveats about the DIY EpiPencil from the inhabitat post:

However, it is worth mentioning that many experts have voiced concern about the EpiPencil and warned that it’s not advisable to try to create a piece of medical equipment at home – it can be difficult to ensure the correct dose is being administered, the epinephrine inside is delicate and might lose its effectiveness if stored this way, and of course, if someone were to create the device without paying close attention to hygiene, it could become contaminated. A miscalibration of the device could even cause the medicine to be injected into a vein, which can have dangerous side effects.

To recap, here's what you're paying for when you buy a real EpiPen:

• The ability to send your kids to school, playdates, summer camp, hikes, and restaurants with reasonable confidence that they'll survive an allergic reaction
• An auto-injector that works. Remember, Twinject was rejected by the market for being clumsy, Auvi-Q was recalled because it could administer the wrong dose, and Teva's autoinjector was rejected by FDA for "major deficiencies"
• A device that many, many people know how to use: school nurses, babysitters, passers-by. That means someone is likely to be there to help you if you need it. Good luck with getting someone to learn how to use your EpiPencil in an emergency, even if somehow it worked as advertised

EpiPen's maker, Mylan has done a lot of sleazy things, which I don't defend, and as a result they may well deserve the opprobrium that is being directed at them. But I stand by my argument that EpiPen is not $2 of epinephrine and a syringe. Instead its a differentiated solution that provides plenty of value to users.If someone can come up with something better and cheaper, please do!——-By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.