Mylan, the pharmaceutical company behind EpiPen Auto-Injectors, substantially raised the price to $600 for a pack of two in August, endangering children and adults at risk of life-threatening allergic reactions who cannot afford the outrageous cost.

Despite Mylan’s acquisition of EpiPen marketing and distribution in 2007, their 15% increase intervals each year in EpiPen prices misrepresents the purpose of their product: saving lives.

Saving lives should not come at a ridiculous cost, especially for such a seemingly simple service. EpiPens help delay the spread of the reaction to provide the ambulance time to reach the scene and take the person to proper medical care.

Mylan CEO, Heather Bresch, currently foresees investigation on the intense price hike, however, those who can no longer afford EpiPens still risk serious allergic reactions. EpiPen users around the country even began to speak out about their experiences where the injector saved their life, criticizing its price raise and discussing its unaffordable costs.

“It’s not fair to the people who need it,” senior Imani Bryant said, “The copay is not all that amazing on pretty much any insurance.”

Regardless of the unnecessary stress to people no longer able to carry an EpiPen, the medical community may no longer function due to the rapid deterioration of health in patients who could not use one.

If Mylan stopped worrying about the money, they would understand that their product does not classify as an unnecessary luxury. They deal with people at risk of dying over something they cannot control.

“It puts a lot of people at a disadvantage,” senior Courtney Wadley said, “It really gets to the heart of ‘why are we paying so much extra for things that are necessary for us to live?’”

A business such as Mylan should not focus on a profit increase. Rather, their priority should be making their product affordable enough for customers while still continuing to gain the profit needed to keep the business running. Corporate greed should not stand in the way of a person’s well-being.

The EpiPen Auto Injector helps people all across the world who suffer from allergies by injecting epinephrine into the user’s body. Mylan, EpiPen’s owner, marked up prices at 15% intervals since 2007, which now comfortably rest at $608 for a two pack.

People criticize Mylan for the markup, saying it hurts users who need the product, but cannot afford it; they link the markup to corporate greed in America. However, Mylan’s decision actually reflects amazing business skills. Mylan marked up prices to increase revenue because they only make a tiny percentage of money for each sale.

Along with the raised prices, Mylan now offers a generic epipen for half price. The generic version comes straight from Mylan, meaning they receive 100% of the profits. Depending on shipping, Mylan could in fact make about $28 more than selling the regular EpiPen.

From a business standpoint, Mylan did the right thing. In America, Obamacare has made government-funded healthcare a normal thing since 2010. Currently around 11.4 million citizens of the United States use Obamacare. This means the government pays for citizen’s health care, so no matter the price of products, the government still covers the cost. With such a significant change in the healthcare industry and the natural market almost removed because of Obamacare, why not raise the prices? Mylan even directly said that this contributed to why they so dramatically raised the price. Mylan took the opportunity with no repercussions.

“The price hike of [epipens] really doesn’t mean much, especially considering the other problems in the country” sophomore Zach Boyer said, “It really seems very miniscule.”

With the generic version coming for half the price, those who can not pay the current price of $608 can rest easily and depend on the insurance that already covered the product.