Naloxone price increases in U.S. have no local effect
As prices continue to steadily increase south of the border on the life-saving opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone, it remains unclear if Saskatchewan, which has only recently begun allowing residents easy access to the drug, will slowly begin to see similar increases.
Local community organizations that stock the life-saving kit are watching to see if price increases will hit them soon.
Naloxone has been on the market since 1971, but only began seeing extreme jumps in price within the United States in the last few years. Drug manufacturer Amphastar’s version of the drug jumped from to US$41 from US$17 a dose in one year. An auto injectable version of the drug, which works like an epi-pen, also saw a dramatic increase to its price per dose in the U.S. since November 2015 — to US$2,250 from US$375.
Pharmacies have been stocking over-the-counter Naloxone kits in Saskatchewan since last fall, but prices have stayed steady, said Ministry of Health spokesperson Shirley Xie.
MD Ambulance spokesperson Troy Davies says they have been using Naloxone in its intravenous form for more than 20 years, but have not seen the drug jump in price more than it would through regular inflation.
EGADZ has been considering stocking Naloxone kits for the last six months, but executive director Don Meikle says for a community organization like theirs, the cost to stock the kits encompasses more than simply the kits themselves.
“With the budget and the possible cuts that are coming down ... we don’t stock it right now, we are looking at it, but it’s very much a cost issue,” he said. “Staff need to be trained how to administer it. Costs in this time right now are really tough.”
The price — and also the option — to purchase an over-the-counter Naloxone kit varies across pharmacies throughout the city. Most major pharmacy chains in the city carry the kit with a few exceptions. Co-op offers it for the cheapest price of $50 and prices at Shoppers Drug Mart, Superstore and Rexall range between $60 to $70 for the two-dose kit.
Saskatoon Co-op general manager Grant Wicks says he believes the company saw a need within the community when they began stocking the kits. No major price increases were noted, although he says if their price to stock the kits rises, consumers will see the increase passed along to them.
“For us as a retailer, it’s another product we sell, so generally speaking, if our costs increase we would pass that along to the customer the same way we would any other product line.”
Saskatoon police also began supplying kits late in April — with officers administering the drug for the first time on June 8 to a 19-year-old man with successful results. Police pay a total of $125.40 for a twodose kit which has a shelf life of two years.
The Ministry of Health is also seeing success in the regionally operated take home Naloxone program, first implemented in November 2015, that provides kits free of charge to those at risk of an opioid overdose.
Since that time, Xie says five additional health regions have signed onto the program and more than 680 people have received training on how to administer the drug, while also learning about overdose prevention and recognition, and 230 kits have been given away. Xie said the ministry received word that two of these kits had been able to stop an overdose and save the lives of users.
Davies, who says MD ambulance has seen an increase in opioid overdoses year over year, believes it’s a good idea for community organizations like EGADZ to be stocking the life saving drug.
“If they have experienced health-care workers where they’re in locations where they know they are probably going to run into these situations it would be beneficial,” he said. “The more readily accessible it is, especially if you’re in an area prone to seeing these types of patients ... I don’t know why you wouldn’t have them.”
Meikle agrees, stating: “We’re out on the street seven days a week, so it’s not a case of if (an overdose is) going to happen, but when it’s going to happen.”