As Overdose Deaths Climb, So Does Demand for Their Antidote
- Drugmakers drawn to market as governments expand access
- Overdose reversals more than double last year from 2010
A syringe of Naloxone.
Photographer: Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
To contain a surge in drug-related deaths in the U.S., state and local governments are pouring money into programs to make an overdose antidote more widely available even as prices rise -- creating a growth opportunity for manufacturers.
Naloxone, approved by regulators decades ago, has gone up tenfold in price in recent years, making the drug more lucrative. That’s led police, emergency responders and schools to seek government subsidies to acquire the medication.