The cost of a life-saving drug used to treat opioid overdoses has soared 680 percent
As the number of Americans dying from opioid overdoses continues to spike across the country, one company’s decision to dramatically raise the price of drug used to treat such overdoses has drawn Congressional scrutiny.
Kaléo, a small private company based in Virginia, manufactures a product, Evzio, that is similar to an EpiPen in that it is automatically injected into a patient during an emergency, according to the company’s website. The main drug in Evzio is naloxone, which prevents opioids from reaching the brain, and the company claims its product has saved more than 1,000 lives.
When Kaléo first introduced Evzio to the U.S. market in 2014, the listed price for a two-pack of injectors was $575, per Business Insider. Today, it’s $4,500.
That increase of 680 percent dwarfs the rise in cost of EpiPens, which went from $100 in 2007 to $609 in 2016, per the New York Times, though it falls short of the actions of former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli, who raised the price of one drug by more than 5,000 percent, per Reuters.
Kaléo has not commented on the price increase for Evzio, but it has defended the price of another one of its products, the Auvi-Q, a direct competitor with the EpiPen. The list price for a two-pack of Auvi-Q is also $4,500, but the company has said those with insurance will not have any copay for the medicine, while those without it will have to pay just $360.
“When setting the ‘list’ price for products, Kaléo always starts with the needs of the patient first and then engages with multiple stakeholders in the healthcare system," Kaléo vice president of corporate affairs Mark Herzog said in a statement emailed to Business Insider. “Following these discussions, in order to help ensure our product is available as an option to most patients for $0 out-of-pocket, we set the list price at $4,500.”
Other pharmaceutical companies have defended the price raises in products as the result of a complex healthcare system that dilutes profits, per USA Today. However, several insurance companies have balked at the idea that Kaléo will be able to push the increased costs onto them, with Cigna and Aetna saying they plan to either limit or not cover the product at all, according to Fierce Pharma.
Kaléo, meanwhile, has also pushed back against critics by distributing Evzio to cities, first responders and drug treatment programs for free. However, one of Evzio and Auvi-Q’s main marketing features is that the devices give “simple, on-the-spot voice and visual guidance” for non-medical professionals to use them.
In response to the price hikes, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), released a letter she sent to Kaléo demanding explanations for the high cost of both drugs.
“I am sure you appreciate the importance of making prescription drugs affordable,” Klobuchar said in the letter, posted to her website. “We must make the market work for consumers.”
President Donald Trump also railed against high drug prices on the campaign trail, saying companies were “getting away with murder” and that the price of healthcare could be significantly curbed by limiting prices, per the Chicago Tribune. But after meeting with pharmaceutical executives Tuesday, what exactly Trump will do about drug prices is still unclear, according to Bloomberg.
This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 4:58 PM with the headline "The cost of a life-saving drug used to treat opioid overdoses has soared 680 percent."