Mylan says being investigated over EpiPen practices

(Reuters) - Mylan NV said on Monday U.S. antitrust authorities had launched an investigation into its EpiPen emergency allergy treatment.

The Federal Trade Commission had asked the company for information months ago as part of a preliminary investigation, a company spokesperson said in an email.

The company did not provide any further details on the investigation but said suggestions it took any inappropriate or unlawful actions to prevent generic competition was "without merit."

Mylan has come under fire for raising the price of a pair of EpiPens to $600 from $100 in 2008 and listing it with Medicaid as a generic product even though it is listed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a branded product. Companies pay smaller rebates to Medicaid for generics.

"The epinephrine auto-injector market is and always has been competitive, with multiple products competing on the market since we acquired EpiPen Auto-Injector," Mylan said in its statement on Monday.

Bloomberg had first reported the news.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)