Cost of EpiPen, life-saving allergy medicine, rises more than 400 percent

The rising cost of the life-saving allergy medicine EpiPen is forcing many families to make tough choices.

The cost of EpiPens from the pharmaceutical company Mylan have gone up about 480 percent, from about $100 in 2009 to more than $600 this year, according to the American Pharmacists Association. For most who need them, they have to get more than one.

"It's not uncommon for somebody who requires EpiPen, for a child, to have them in many different places," mother Katie Badura said.

Mylan manufactured 87 percent of all epinephrine auto-injectors prescribed last year, which is more than 3.6 million EpiPen kits. Forbes estimates the cost of the actual medicine is about $1 per dosage.

"An increasing number of people and families are enrolled in high deductible health plans. This shift has presented new challenges for consumers, and they are bearing more of the cost," the company told ABC News.