House panel: Mylan CEO disguised profits in EpiPen testimony

Leaders of the House Oversight Committee want EpiPen maker Mylan to explain why the company’s CEO failed to tell Congress that profit rates the company claimed for the life-saving EpiPen were calculated after taxes.

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch repeatedly told the panel last month that Mylan made just $50 in profit for EpiPens sold for more than $300 apiece. But the lawmakers said in a letter released Monday that the figures Bresch cited were calculated after factoring in the 37.5 percent U.S. tax rate. Before taxes, the EpiPen profit is actually $160 for a two-pack.

Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel’s senior Democrat, said Bresch’s failure to disclose the tax assumptions raised questions about her truthfulness at the Sept. 21 hearing.

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.