In a statement, it wrote that “any allegations of disregard for consumers who need these lifesaving drugs, government officials, regulators or any other of our valued stakeholders are patently false
and wholly inconsistent with the company’s culture, mission and track record of delivering access to medicine.”
Mr. Coury declined to be interviewed, but Ms. Bresch sat down with me last month at Mylan’s Manhattan offices.
The agency ordered the commercial pulled after just a few days because it was “false and misleading,” “overstates the efficacy of the drug product” and “may result in serious consequences, including death.” The agency ordered Mylan to broadcast another ad, this one acknowledging
that the “EpiPen cannot prevent an allergic reaction.”
But regulators never investigated why Mylan’s internal protocols had allowed the dangerous ad to air.
(And then there was the time, in 2013, when Mr. Coury, at a Goldman Sachs conference, indicated his
dislike for hypothetical questions by saying that “if your aunt had balls, she’d be your uncle.”)
In our interview, Ms. Bresch said there was nothing in Mylan’s culture she would change.
“But I think if there’s any company out there that has demonstrated you can do good and do well, we’re one of the few.” For instance, Ms. Bresch noted
that Mylan had recently released a generic version of EpiPen.
Those top leaders’ responses are a far cry from the message on Mylan’s website, which says
that “we challenge every member of every team to challenge the status quo,” and that “we put people and patients first, trusting that profits will follow.”
But Mylan is a prime example of how easy it is for leaders to say one thing publicly and act differently in private.
