Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin is urging the maker of a heroin overdose antidote to stop what he says is a 62 percent spike in cost of the drug that has saved scores of lives since it was first distributed to addicts and first responders.
Shumlin says the cost of the drug Naloxone — also known by the trade name Narcan — has gone up 62 percent in the last month, from $113 per 100 doses in early March to $183 as of Monday.
He wrote a letter Wednesday to Jack Zhang, the CEO of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, urging him to prevent the drug "from being priced out-of-reach" at a time when it is being used successfully to save lives.
Officials at Amphastar did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.
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