California is making the medication that reverses opioid overdoses available to the public at almost half the market price, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced April 21.
The price the state negotiated with Amneal Pharmaceuticals is $24 for a twin-pack of naloxone HCL 4 mg nasal spray, branded as CalRx-Naloxone, available for purchase online through the state’s CalRx Naloxone Project website.
Naloxone is the generic form of the medication often known as Narcan, its original brand name. A search online on April 23 showed that Walgreens sells its own brand of naloxone 4 mg spray at $34.99, while selling Narcan for $44.99.
“Life-saving medications shouldn’t come with a life-altering price tag,” Newsom said in a statement, “California is using our market power as the fifth largest economy in the world to disrupt a billion-dollar industry to save lives … and we’re just getting started.”…