ALBANY, N.Y. — The state attorney general’s office is investigating whether Mylan Pharmaceuticals unfairly limited competition for its emergency allergy treatment EpiPen, which has been criticized for steep price increases.

A preliminary review showed the company “may have inserted potentially anticompetitive terms” into sales contracts with many school systems, Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Tuesday.

“If Mylan engaged in anti-competitive business practices, or violated antitrust laws with the intent and effect of limiting lower cost competition, we will hold them accountable,” Schneiderman said. “Allergy sufferers have enough concerns to worry about. The availability of life-saving medical treatment should not be one of them.”

Subpoenas for company information were issued last week.

EpiPens are used in emergencies to treat severe allergic reactions to insect bites and foods including nuts that can lead to anaphylactic shock. They are auto-injectors, or spring-loaded syringes that provide single doses of the drug epinephrine, and can be administered by patients themselves or by untrained people.

The price has grown to $608 for a two-pack, up more than 500 percent since 2007. The drugmaker has announced it will launch a generic version that will cost $300 in the next several weeks.

Democratic Missouri U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, the top Democrat on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and the committee’s Republican chairwoman, Maine U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, have written Mylan asking for a briefing on the price increases.


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