Story highlights West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin defended his daughter in an interview

The company of which she is CEO, Mylan, hiked prices for the allergy drug EpiPen

(CNN) West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin defended his daughter in an interview Tuesday after the pharmaceutical company she leads raised the price of EpiPens -- a move that thrust the father-daughter pair into the center of the political debate over healthcare costs and drug prices.

Speaking to Bloomberg News, Manchin praised his daughter, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, as "compassionate" and "generous." The former West Virginia governor said that ever since Bresch has been at Mylan and he's been in politics, "we made a point" to keep those parts of their lives separate.

"We make a point, ever since I've been in this position, and when I was governor, we made a point -- we just didn't get involved. It's so convoluted, I don't understand. To get into something you don't understand and your daughter being in this type of industry -- it was best I stayed away," he said.

"My daughter is my daughter with unconditional love, and she's the most amazing person that I know," he continued. "She's so compassionate and generous in how she's always lived her life."

Bresch became a target of derision over the summer after a nearly 500% increase in the cost of the lifesaving allergy drug EpiPen, which is one of the company's signature products. The drug, which cost around $100 in 2009, shot up to as much as $600.