A major pillar of congressional efforts to rein in opioid abuse is giving out an overdose antidote to first responders, but two senators are raising concerns about price and access.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., wrote to five manufacturers of naloxone on Friday to ask what the drug companies are doing to preserve access to the generic product. Collins and McCaskill head the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which has been investigating high generic drug prices.
“As we work to address a complex public health crisis, it is important that naloxone, a potentially lifesaving tool, be accessible,” the senators wrote in one letter.
The letter comes after a Politico report that found the price of at least one version of the drug increased 17 times in the last two years, according to a release from the committee.
The letters call for information on “what actions [they] are taking to ensure continued and improved access to naloxone, [and] an explanation for price changes in [their] company’s naloxone product,” a committee release said.
The Senate and the House have both passed comprehensive opioid legislation which includes provisions to expand access to naloxone for first responders.
The letters were sent to Amphastar, Pfizer, Kaleo Pharma, Mylan and Adapt Pharmaceuticals.
