(NBC NEWS) - The pharmaceutical company at the center of a public firestorm over the skyrocketing prices for its life-saving EpiPens has made a surprise announcement.
Mylan Pharmaceuticals now says it will offer its own generic version of the EpiPen for half the price, although that's still three times what it cost just a few years ago.
This may be both a public relations move and a financial move as Mylan Pharmaceuticals has found itself in the bullseye of controversy over what many believe is excessive drug company pricing and profiteering.
Mylan Pharmaceuticals now says it will soon offer an identical, generic version of its life-saving EpiPen. Rather than $600, it will cost $300 for the generic.
That 50-percent discount is not the typical 90-percent discount common with most generics.
"This is all a very convoluted mechanism to distract from the real issue which is that Mylan has been price gouging the American public for years," said Peter Maybarduk, Public Citizen.
Critics point to the example of two moms who live in two different countries.
In North Carolina, Tracy Bush keeps three EpiPens on hand for her son Devin.
"A few years ago my son had a reaction to watermelon and it was literally seconds that his throat started to close up," she said.
The price: $600 each.
Meanwhile, in Canada, five-year-old Lucien Gauvin also has life-threatening allergies to dairy, peanuts, treenuts, eggs, wheat and chicken.
His family keeps six EpiPens at hand. The price at the pharmacy: $100 each.
"To me it doesn't make any sense for such a difference in price," said Gui Quesnel, Canadian pharmacist.
"It's one of those things that makes me happy to be Canadian," said Pauline Osena, Lucien's mother.
Why the price difference?
One very big reason is that Canadian healthcare is under-written by the government.
"The marketing is not the same in Canada. They negotiate prices because there's drug plans. So the drug plans, they'll be buying in bulk since it's provincial governments that are negotiating the prices - so they try and bring the prices down," said Dr. Barry Dworkin, Canadian family physician.
The drug itself, epinephrine, has been around for 100 years and costs just $3.
Analysts say the plastic auto injector is also cheap.
Last week, Mylan CEO Heather Bresche blamed the skyrocketing costs on middlemen who demand bigger and bigger cuts:
"Our health care is in a crisis. It's no different than the mortgage financial crisis back in 2007. This bubble is going to burst," she said.
Mylan makes $1 billion a year on EpiPens.
Mylan says its $300 generic could be on the market in the coming months, but consumer advocates say many anxious parents may avoid the cheaper, identical generic and stick with the more expensive brand name they know.