Eagan Doctor Develops $50 Alternative to the EpiPen

An Eagan doctor has developed an alternative to the Epinephrine (EpiPen) and is trying to get it on the market.

Dr. Douglas MacMahon works at the Allergy and Asthma Center of Minnesota in Eagan.

WCCO reported that MacMahon began creating a cheaper, smaller device, which he calls AllergyStop.

“I’ve been working on this for many years,” MacMahon said.

“I actually have severe food allergies myself, so I’ve need to carry an Epinephrine device for many years. Throughout that process I’ve realized the current device is really big and cumbersome, to the point where I hardly ever carried it.”

The price of the EpiPen has increased 550 percent over eight years, and the list price for a pack of two is just over $600. The product is used to treat severe allergic reactions.

MacMahon is in the process of raising millions of dollars to get AllergyStop to patients.

“It cost an incredible amount of money and time and effort,” MacMahon said.

“I have a patent on my device and one of these advisors says, ‘It probably doesn’t even matter because it’s so hard to take a product to market, you really won’t have any competitors.'”

Read more at WCCO.

Image: Vu Nguyen via Flickr /Creative Commons