Increased Naloxone Prices Could Affect Rates of Opioid-Related Mortality
The research team from Yale University and the Mayo Clinic called attention to the increasing prices, noting that (1) Hospira (a Pfizer company) charges $142 for a 10-pack of naloxone — up 129% since 2012; (2) Amphastar’s 1 mg version of naloxone is used off-label as a nasal spray. It’s priced around $40 — a 95% increase since September 2014; and (3) newer, easier-to-use formulations are even more expensive — a 2-dose package of Evzio (naloxone) costs $4,500, an increase of more than 500% over 2 years.
Naloxone is part of a wave of precipitous price hikes affecting old and new medicines. These drugs include Mylan’s EpiPen injectors for life-threatening allergic reactions; Turing Pharmaceuticals’ Sovaldi for hepatitis C; and insulin for diabetes made by Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi US.
Several US agencies have recommended boosting access to naloxone to combat prescription opioid-related deaths, the study authors noted. Possible strategies include: encouraging generic competition; buying in bulk; and importing generics from international manufacturers. The government could also invoke a federal law that allows it to contract with a manufacturer to produce less-costly versions, the study authors suggested. It’s also possible that the US Food and Drug Administration could switch naloxone to over-the-counter status, the researchers said.
