US regulators approve rival product for EpiPen, Symjepi

US regulators have approved a rival product for EpiPen, the emergency allergy medicine, that has made Mylan the EpiPen maker notorious for greed and price gouging.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp.'s product, which is set to hit the market later this year.

Adamis' Symjepi is a syringe prefilled with the hormone epinephrine, which helps stop life-threatening allergic reactions from insect stings and bites, foods such as nuts and eggs, or certain medications.

According to the San Diego-based company, its product was easier to use than Mylan's EpiPen, a spring-loaded syringe filled with a set dose that came with a training device.

Symjepi was also smaller than EpiPen, so it was easier to fit in a pocket or purse. Most children and adults with severe food or insect allergies carried a device with them and left a spare at home, school or work.

According to Adamis it was still looking for a distributor, so it had not set the exact price for its product, which will be offered in pairs like EpiPen.

According to Adamis spokesman Mark Flather Symjepi was intended to be a "low-cost alternative" to EpiPen and similar products, and the company aimed to sell it for less than generic EpiPens.

Mylan, last year had hiked the price of its drug to more than $600 from about $100 in 2007. According to the Associated Press, it cost less than $20 to make a pair of EpiPens.

In December, Mylan offered a generic version of the drug for about $300.

Adamis planned to sell the medication, Symjepi, for less than the generic EpiPen, a company spokesman told the AP. Meanwhile, the company is also preparing to apply for FDA approval of a junior version of Symjepi, which will contain less epinephrine and will compete with Mylan's EpiPen Jr.