Nasal spray maker Narcan aims for over-the-counter price below $50

CNN
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Emergent, the maker of the opioid overdose antidote Narcan, said in A declaration Thursday that it is targeting a cash price of less than $50 for its nasal spray product now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is allowing over-the-counter sales.

Public interest groups such as government agencies, nonprofits, and first responders pay less than $50 on average for a two-dose, 4-milligram kit, the company says. The wholesale price is $125 per kit. “One of the objectives of the price to be paid by the retailer is to be consistent with our public interest prices…although the retail price is set by individual retailers.”

In a letter dated April 6 in Emergent, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut asked the company to respond by Thursday with “the affordable OTC Narcan list price your company intends to set.”

“Currently, your product is reported to have a wholesale price of up to $120 for two doses, with significant price variations depending on location and insurance coverage. People without insurance – about a fifth of people with opioid use disorder are uninsured – will be forced to bear the full cost. Even people with insurance and a low co-pay may struggle to afford Narcan,” he wrote. “I ask that you commit to working with public health experts, addiction specialists and community activists to develop and determine a list price for OTC Narcan that makes it affordable and accessible to those who need it most. ”

In a response letter Thursday, Emergent stressed the importance of continued federal funding for drug treatment and prevention programs, including opioid response initiatives that distribute Narcan, and for private insurers, Medicare and Medicaid, to consider their drug coverage.

Emergent aims to have Narcan available online and in stores by the end of the summer.

Harm reduction experts said the price of Narcan’s overdose antidote drug naloxone has inhibited its accessibility for those who need it most and will likely still be out of reach for many, despite a drop. price potential with over-the-counter availability.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said when the FDA approved over-the-counter naloxone last month that the administration was asking Emergent to keep the price low.

“We need to make sure that these lifesaving medicines, as well as the treatments, are accessible wherever you live, rural or urban, rich or poor,” he said.

Narcan works by blocking the effects of opioids on the brain and restoring breathing. For maximum effectiveness, it should be administered as soon as signs of overdose appear.

The drug only works on someone if there are opioids in their system. It won’t work on any other type of drug overdose, but it won’t have any adverse effects if given to someone who hasn’t taken opioids.

Each kit contains two doses in case the overdosed person does not respond to the first dose. However, Emergent says most overdoses can be reversed with just one dose. The product can be given to anyone, even children and babies.

More than a million people have died from drug overdoses in the two decades since the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began collecting this data. Many of these deaths were due to opioids. Deaths from opioid overdoses have increased more than 17% in just one year, from about 69,000 in 2020 to about 81,020 in 2021, according to the CDC.

Opioid-related deaths are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Most involve adults, but children also die, largely after ingesting synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Between 1999 and 2016, nearly 9,000 children and teens died from opioid poisoning, with the highest annual rates among teens ages 15 to 19, according to the CDC.

About 1.2 million doses of naloxone were dispensed by retail pharmacies in 2021, according to data published by the American Medical Association – nearly nine times more than those dispensed five years earlier.