Discounted naloxone now available to first responders
Discounted price is $20 per dose, down from $33.27 and $66.89
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Attorney General Maura Healey announced the deal she struck with Amphastar during a press conference in September. From Antonio Caban/SHNS video.
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Cities and towns in Massachusetts may now purchase the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone at the discounted price of $20 per dose, state officials announced on Wednesday, while pointing out that overdose rates have traditionally spiked during the holiday season.
Under the Massachusetts Municipal Naloxone Bulk Purchasing Trust Fund, first responders may buy naloxone at the discounted rate and have the drug, along with an atomization delivery device, sent directly to them, according to Attorney General Maura Healey and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Municipalities have been paying between $33.27 and $66.89 per dose of naloxone, not including the cost of the atomizer, according to Healey's office. Healey and public health officials said the discount is partly due to a charitable donation from Teleflex Incorporated, a medical device provider that makes the atomization devices.
Naloxone maker Amphastar Pharmaceuticals also made a $325,000 payment following concerns over the cost of its drug, according to Healey's office, and the Legislature provided $100,000 to help pay for the drug in the face of recent increases in overdose deaths.
"The use of naloxone has saved lives across Massachusetts, and is one of our state's greatest success stories in the fight against the opioid epidemic," Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said in a statement. "This critical effort to lower the cost of naloxone will allow more municipalities, first responders, and those most likely to witness overdoses to be more prepared and equipped to save lives."
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Michael Norton, State House News Service. Covers major media, lobbying firms, government agencies, political junkies, as well as Towns/Regions Covered: Statewide. Read Mike's previous stories here.Source.
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