Price of Drug Used to Treat Heroin Overdoses on the Rise

The Associated Press reported that advocates are worried that the rising price of naloxone could lead to the death of heroin addicts. The drug, which is often sold in the US under the brand name Narcan, is used as an antidote to heroin overdoses.

As quoted in the market news:

Officials across the country have largely agreed that it makes sense to hand out naloxone to police, families of addicts and drug users themselves, and in some places are now scrambling to negotiate discounts for programs that buy it in bulk for public distribution.

JSAS HealthCare, a clinic based on the New Jersey shore, began last year training community members to administer the drug and providing it to them with the help of state funds.

But a price increase late last year means that instead of buying 400 naloxone kits for a little under $21,000 — at $51.50 per kit paid to a third-party distribution company — that’s now enough for only 200, at just under $100 per kit, a negotiated discount that’s $5 cheaper than what he was quoted.

Jason Shandell, president of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH), which sells a popular naloxone product, commented:

Like other companies in the industry, manufacturing costs for our entire portfolio of products, including naloxone, have been steadily increasing due to the continued rise in costs for raw materials, energy, and labor over the recent several years.

Click here to read the full report from The Associated Press.