Sarah Jessica Parker is ending her relationship with EpiPen maker Mylan after the company raised the price of the allergy injector to over $500, PEOPLE reports.
Parker, who acted as a paid spokesperson for Mylan, was involved with a campaign titled “Anaphylaxis For Reel,” which focused on ensuring allergy sufferers were always prepared for an attack by carrying an EpiPen.
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Parker announced the news that she was ending her relationship with the company in an Instagram post Thursday, noting that the cause is an important one to her because her son, James Wilkie, has a peanut allergy that requires the use of an EpiPen.
“I recently learned that the price of the EpiPen has been systematically raised to a point that renders the medication cost-prohibitive for countless people,” Parker wrote in her post.
“I’m left disappointed, saddened and deeply concerned by Mylan’s actions,” she continued. “I do not condone this decision and I have ended my relationship with Mylan as a direct result of it. I hope they will seriously consider the outpouring of voices of those millions of people who are dependent on the device, and take swift action to lower the cost to be more affordable for whom it is a life-saving necessity.”
Bloomberg News reports that an EpiPen cost just $57 in 2007, and has steadily been increasing in price over the years, with a possible culprit being a 2012 lawsuit that allowed a generic competitor into the market.
Mylan said in a statement that to help with cost, it will eliminate out-of-pocket expenses for uninsured and under-insured patients, cover up to $300 of out-of-pocket costs at pharmacies as well as “open a pathway to provide [EpiPens] directly to patients.”
