New York State Attorney General Schneiderman announced today an agreement with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to extend a price cut for naloxone, a highly effective antidote that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose, for all agencies in New York State through January 2018.

 

The deal comes as new data show that the price cut first negotiated by the A.G.’s office last year has made it possible for more than 200 agencies across the state to obtain a total of 278,000 discounted syringes of naloxone, saving $1.6 million in costs since February 2015.

 

The agreement stipulates that Amphastar will cover a $6 rebate per dose, which will also automatically increase, dollar-for-dollar, to match future growth in the wholesale price. As part of the agreement, this rebate is available to all public entities, including but not limited to the State Department of Health, the City of New York, the governments of individual New York Counties, and the drug treatment centers and harm reduction programs they fund.

 

The data released today on the cost savings and number of discounted syringes dispensed as part of this program refer to the period from February 2015 to July 2016.

 

Overall, the deal reduces the price of naloxone by nearly 20 percent.

 

In the past year, a number of states across the country, including Ohio, Delaware, and Rhode Island, have reached deals with Amphastar patterned off the price cut that A.G. Schneiderman initially negotiated in 2015.