Nasal Naloxone Price Set to Jump
From the article:
Eliza Wheeler and several volunteers sit on the floor of her office and pack naloxone kits. They package up rubber gloves, rescue breathing masks, alcohol pads, and two atomizers.
And, of course, the key ingredient: two cartridges of nasal naloxone — an old drug that can reverse an opioid overdose in seconds.
Wheeler and her team then distribute these kits free of charge to people in the San Francisco area who are at risk of or know someone at risk of an overdose.
It costs her organization, the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC), about $40 to make each kit. But that amount stands to rise sharply because Amphastar — the lone producer of nasal naloxone in the U.S. — will be doubling the drug’s price starting Dec. 1.
The wholesale cost of each cartridge is set to jump from about $13 to $30, an increase that could make it hard for many nonprofit programs to distribute nasal naloxone, several of those groups told MedPage Today. Amphastar did not return calls for comment.
Filed under: General Problems
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