Dive Brief:
- New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has struck a price cut deal for Amphastar's opioid overdose antidote Narcan (naloxone).
- The deal amounts to just under a 20% discount for the drug, which has been increasingly in demand in the face of a rising tide of heroin and prescription painkiller overdoses in America, particularly in the northeast.
- New York has also secured a distribution arrangement with nearly 500 CVS pharmacy locations in the state to dispense Narcan to patients seeking it even without a prescription. That deal also stipulates a $6-per-unit rebate to be provided by Amphastar.
Dive Insight:
This deal is a one-year extension of a price cut arrangement set up by Schneiderman last year. And it underscores how essential Narcan has become as opioid overdose rates continue to climb.
Pricing has been a significant issue for state and local governments wishing to arm first responders with the medication, leading states like New York to pursue their own arrangements with Amphastar. Last summer, House Government and Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) asked Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) to cut a similar deal.
Cummings and presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have also written to Amphastar in order to inquire about the firm's pricing practices.