Senator Claire McCaskill on Thursday called on Kaléo Pharmaceuticals to explain the recent surge in pricing for their Evzio naloxone auto-injector, which delivers a drug used to combat opioid overdoses. A twin-pack of Evzio now carries a $4500 list price to insurers, up from $690 in 2014, according to Kaiser Health.
Kaléo announced last week that Auvi-Q – their epinephrine auto-injector – had officially reentered the market over a year after being recalled by Sanofi. The list price for Auvi-Q to insurers is also $4500. On a conference call, Kaléo management stated this was part of their strategy for offering the device with $0 out-of-pocket for those with commercial insurance and those without insurance earning less than $100,000 per year.
“At a time when Congress has worked to expand access to naloxone products and to assist state and local communities to equip first responders with this life-saving drug, this startling price hike is very concerning,” McCaskill said in a letter to Kaleo Chief Executive Spencer Williamson. The letter was signed by 30 US senators.
“We received the letter from the Senators and are in communication with them to ensure all questions are addressed,” Williamson told Reuters in an e-mailed statement.
