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The chairman of EpiPen maker Mylan reportedly gave everyone the finger when he was asked about drug prices (MYL)

Mylan's chairman reportedly did not mince words when addressing potential drug-pricing criticism.

Mylan chairman Robert Coury in 2015.

Numerous drug companies have been criticized for the increased prices of some medications in the past few years.

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Mylan, the company that makes the emergency allergy medication EpiPen, was one of them.

According to a new report by The New York Times, the outrage had been a long time coming — Mylan employees were concerned about the price increases in as early as 2014.

At one point, the employees brought it up with Mylan's chairman, Robert Coury.

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Here's how that went, as reported by Charles Duhigg at The Times:

"Mr. Coury replied that he was untroubled. He raised both his middle fingers and explained, using colorful language, that anyone criticizing Mylan, including its employees, ought to go copulate with themselves. Critics in Congress and on Wall Street, he said, should do the same. And regulators at the Food and Drug Administration? They, too, deserved a round of anatomically challenging self-fulfillment."

Mylan said in a statement 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."

It wasn't until August of last year that Mylan was called out by politicians and the public for raising the price of the EpiPen to $608.61 from $93.88 over the past decade. Mylan's CEO, Heather Bresch, later had to testify before Congress, class-action lawsuits have been filed against the company, and Mylan in May was accused of overcharging the US government by $1.27 billion for EpiPens.

Coury originally served as CEO of Mylan from 2002 to 2011. Until June of last year, Coury served as executive chairman, a role he held since 2012 when Bresch became CEO. According to filings, Coury made roughly $98 million in 2016, the same year in which the company faced criticism for the price of the EpiPen and the stock fell by almost 30%, according to company filings.

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Even after the outrage the drug faced, the price of the branded EpiPen hasn't changed, Duhigg noted on a recent trip to the pharmacy, though the company did introduce a generic that has a list price of $300.

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