Mylan, the Amsterdam-based company facing large scrutiny from the media, consumers and politicians for its drug pricing practices, ranks second-highest among all U.S. drug and biotech firms in executive compensation, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The finding comes from an analysis conducted by the publication on pharmaceutical and biotech pay data from S&P Global Market Intelligence's ExecuComp service. The analysis reveals the EpiPen maker paid its top five executives a total of $292.1 million over the five years ended last December. Annual pay includes salary, bonus, the estimated value of stock and option awards and other compensation.
Mylan's combined total surpassed industry rivals several times larger, including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Eli Lilly & Co., according to the analysis. Mylan's combined total was also higher than Vertex, Allergan, Merck and Co., Amgen and AbbVie, among other companies. The only company with a combined total that surpassed Mylan was Regeneron, which paid its top five executives a total of $518 million during the five-year period.
The Wall Street Journal states Mylan's No. 2 ranking is due to the fact the company paid three top executives — Chairman Robert J. Coury, CEO Heather Bresch and President Rajiv Malik — a total of at least $70 million each over that five-year period.
In response to the analysis, Mylan said in a statement that its business is complex and highly competitive, and "our effective management across our regions and portfolio has allowed us to consistently deliver strong performance for shareholders, year after year," reports The Wall Street Journal. Mylan also said its executive pay programs have been approved by shareholders, and management structure changes and some extraordinary matters over the five-year period makes "impossible" any "apples to apples" comparison of executive pay with its peers, the report states.
Click here to see how all the companies fared in the analysis.
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Mylan execs took large raises amidst EpiPen price spikes