USA TODAY International Edition
Price of opioid antidote surges ‘ startling’ 600%
The price for an injectable drug touted as an antidote for opioid overdoses has jumped more than 600%, prompting outrage from first responders to the U. S. Senate.
Evzio contains naloxone, which saves the lives of people overdosing. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration- approved medication is designed to be used by those who don’t have medical training, such as police officers and families who have relatives with substance- abuse problems.
The price for Evzio jumped from $ 690 in 2014 to $ 4,500 now, against the backdrop of a huge rise in the number of prescription opioid overdose deaths in the U. S. The figure has quadrupled since 1999, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During that time, more than 183,000 people died.
Last week, 31 U. S. senators sent a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Evzio, to complain.
“Such a steep rise in the cost of this drug threatens to price out families and communities that depend on naloxone to save lives,” the letter reads. “This startling price hike is very concerning.”
The uproar mirrors that surrounding huge price increases for the EpiPen, an epinephrine autoinjector used on people in the midst of life- threatening allergic reactions, and the toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim, used by people who have AIDS, cancer or a weakened immune system.
People with commercial insurance can get Evzio free whether or not they have high- deductible plans or if Evzio isn’t covered by their insurance companies, as can patients without insurance who have a household income below $ 100,000, according to Spencer Williamson, CEO of the Richmond, Va.- based drugmaker. It’s $ 360 for patients paying cash.
Though the company is privately held, public company PDL BioPharma loaned Kaléo $ 150 million in April 2014 to support what it called commercialization of the drug the FDA approved on April 3, 2014.
“In February 2016, the list price of Evzio increased so that we could launch this access program for patients,” Williamson said in a statement. “Because of this patient- access program for
Evzio, more Americans are able to obtain naloxone for $ 0 out- ofpocket than any time in history.”
The company called the prices, $ 690 and $ 4,500, incorrect. But the figures senators cited come from a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The listed wholesale price, which is for distributors selling to pharmacies, is $ 4,100, Williamson said. But that’s “not a true net price to anyone due to numerous discounts and rebates that are negotiated in the supply chain that make up our health care system.”
He added Kaléo has donated nearly 200,000 doses to “public health departments, first responders and non- profits serving patients in need.”