SACROMENTO – California residents are currently eligible to purchase naloxone, a generic drug for Narcan, a drug used for opioid overdose. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Monday for $24 through the state’s prescription website Calrx brand.
“A life-saving drug should not come with a life-changing price. Calx is about making essential drugs like naloxone that are affordable and accessible to everyone, rather than a privileged minority,” Newsom said in the release.
Naloxone is an easy-to-use nasal spray that can reverse drug overdose and save lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US say anyone who knows that someone at risk of overdose or who is at risk should carry naloxone in an emergency.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that a Calrx branded commercially available naloxone HCl 4 milligram nose spray twin pack is now available to all Californians in California at $24 per carton, almost half the standard market price.
(Governor’s Press Office)
The move expanded the program launched last year, making it free and in large quantities available to eligible organizations such as nonprofits, universities and first responders. The state has paid $24 per two-dose unit, down from the $41 billed by previous suppliers, saving $17 million since May 2024, according to Savings Tracker.
Preliminary data up to June 2024 showed a reduction in synthetic opioid overdose deaths in California for the first time since 2018, Newsom’s Office said. The decline could not contribute to one factor, but comprehensive efforts to tackle crises involving fentanyl and other opioids appear to make a difference.
The statewide decline reflects a plateau of deaths from overdose amongst immobilized people in Los Angeles County, as public health officials strengthened the distribution of naloxone last year.
Part of Newsom’s plan to address the opioid crisis included placing Naloxone in middle and high schools throughout the state and making it more affordable and widely accessible through Calrx. Bill Newsom, signed last year, may need a workplace to stock naloxone in his first aid kit by 2028.
Newsom wants to use Calrx to produce common versions of insulin, naloxone and other drugs at a cost and price. He announced in 2023 with a $50 million contract with a nonprofit manufacturer. Despite a long-standing setback in which multiple healthcare initiatives and Medicaid cuts are expected from the Trump administration, the governor has still pledged to make common insulin available for $30.
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