STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — The recent spike in the cost of a drug used to reverse heroin overdoses is making it difficult to keep Massachusetts first responders stocked with the lifesaving remedy, Attorney General Maura Healey said yesterday.
Healey’s office sent a letter to California-based Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. asking for more information about the cost of the drug naloxone — also marketed under the brand name Narcan — which has been credited for saving individuals in the throes of possible fatal overdoses.
Healey points to reports that she says indicate the cost of the drug has more than doubled — from $19.56 to $41.43 for a 2-milliliter dose — since June 2014, straining access to the drug at a time when it’s most needed in the state.
In March, then-Gov. Deval Patrick declared a public health emergency in Massachusetts, citing an increase in heroin and opiate overdoses, and he ordered that naloxone be immediately available to all first responders in Massachusetts.
Healey said the price increase is making it harder for those who need access to the medication — which comes in a nasal and syringe form — to maintain supplies.
“I’ve heard from first responders about an uptick in price over the last year, and I just want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make this drug available,” Healey told the Associated Press.
Amphastar President Jason Shandell said prices for the company’s products have increased because of rising costs of raw materials, energy and labor. He said the prices cited by Healey were likely charged by a distributor, not Amphastar.
“It should be noted that our recent price increase brings the price of our naloxone product closer to (but still significantly below) the current industry price,” Shandell wrote in an email, saying he looks forward to discussing the matter with Healey.
He said Amphastar does not manufacture, market or sell any intranasal naloxone product. He said the company’s naloxone product is sold in a pre-filled syringe.
“Our company currently operates at a loss as a direct result of such rising costs, which dictated the need for us to recently raise the price of the majority of our products,” he added.
Healey said heroin tainted with the synthetic opiate painkiller fentanyl entered Massachusetts last year and the number of fatalities surged to hundreds in just a few months.
Healey said she’s not suggesting the company was deliberately hiking the cost of the drug. She said her concern is making sure first responders and family members of those at risk of overdoses aren’t priced out.
“I’m just going to be aggressive to make sure that nobody is out there unnecessarily profiteering from a public health crisis,” she said. “I’m not saying that that’s happened here. I’m just saying that I want to learn more from the company.”
Healey’s letter was sent the same day Amphastar agreed to cut and cap the price of the antidote bought by government agencies across New York.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said yesterday that the company will offer a $6 rebate per dose for the next year for naloxone. The deal calls for the rebate to automatically increase to match any growth in the wholesale price.
Healey wouldn’t say if she was seeking the same deal, but Shandell said he was ready to make a similar offer.
“I am confident that we can assist the state of MA in a similar (way) that we did with New York as we are committed to public safety and assisting the government where we can,” he wrote.
