Big Pharma is at it again.
A company in Virginia named Kaleo makes a medicine called Evzio, which delivers the antidote naloxone used prevent someone’s opioid overdose from being fatal. With opioid overdose deaths sharply on the rise, demand for the life-saving drug has risen.
So they responded to the need with a price increase from $690 in 2014 to $4,500. Nice, huh?
Fortunately it isn’t the only antidote on the market, but Evzio has a sizeable piece of the market. It was just introduced in 2014 and the FDA estimates that the drug comprises almost half of all naloxone-related prescriptions for the highest group of naloxone users: adults from the age of 40-64.
The Big Pharma execs are trying to mitigate the backlash to their latest money-grubbing scheme by offering coupons and donating free doses. While it might be a nice PR move, it’s merely effort to bury the important part. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:
Kaleo, which is trying to blunt the pricing backlash and turn Evzio into the trusted brand, is dispensing its device for free — to cities, first responders and drug treatment programs. Such donations were also essential to the Epi-Pen’s business strategy.
The device has been invaluable to patients, said Eliza Wheeler of San Francisco’s Harm Reduction Coalition, a nonprofit that works to combat overdoses and has received donations of Evzio. But at $4,500 a package?
“I might have $10,000 to spend on naloxone for a year, to supply a whole city,” Wheeler said. “If I have 10 grand to spend, I certainly can’t buy two Evzios.”
This sort of stuff is what contributes to the high cost of health care in America. Where are the Republicans complaining about jacked up drug prices contributing to high insurance premiums?