Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine is demanding answers from Kaleo Pharmaceuticals on why the company has drastically hiked the price of naloxone, the life-saving medication used to treat opioid overdoses.
King signed on to a letter Wednesday with more than 30 Democratic and independent Senate colleagues, asking Kaleo why the price of its naloxone injector has soared from about $700 dollars in 2014 to its current cost of about $4,500.
In the letter, lawmakers say the hike “threatens to price-out families and communities that depend on naloxone to save lives.”
Kaleo has defended the price, saying it donates many injectors to paramedics and other groups, and also offers discount programs and coupons.
A spokesman for the Maine Attorney General’s office, which distributes naloxone to 43 law enforcement agencies, says they use a different product that costs $75.
