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Medical Hackers Reveal How to DIY an EpiPen for Just $30

It's better than paying $600-plus for a two-pack

By Rain Noe - September 23, 2016

in Medical | DIY

Since acquiring the rights to market the EpiPen in 2007, pharmaceutical company Mylan has raised the wholesale price of a two-pack from around 100 bucks to over $600. This trend will only continue, because the drug companies know there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it.

Or is there? A collective of medical hackers called Four Thieves Vinegar has developed DIY instructions for consumers to create their own EpiPens, using off-the-shelf parts, for about $30. In the video below, head hacker Michael Laufer shows you how doable it is, and yes, he sticks himself with the autoinjector to prove that it works:

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FTV is calling their version the EpiPencil. The Parallax reveals why they created it: "You know there are people who are just not buying an EpiPen because they can't afford it," Laufer says. "That's unconscionable."

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Paul Lewis

8 years ago

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This is being presented as if it's some big revelation. It's not. There are plenty of generic auto-injectors out there, they just need to be loaded with Epinephrine. You can find a doctor that will prescribe it this way. There are also generic alternatives to the Mylan's Epipen—Adrenaclick is one. The other alternative is to travel to Canada, or convince your Canadian friend to mail you one. Epipen's can be bought over-the-counter in Canadian pharmacies for about $100CDN.

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Sam Ettinger

8 years ago

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It's worth mentioning that this approach has one big risk: glass particle contamination. Opening those epinephrine ampoules correctly isn't as easy as you may think, and microscopic glass chips can wreck your body from the inside out, causing thrombosis or embolisms. "Caveat injector," as they say.

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