The Senate Aging Committee has asked pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for information about soaring prices for the generic drug naloxone, used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
The drug’s price rose from $45 for a set of 10 vials in 2009 to $263.88 in early 2014—an increase of almost 600 percent, before settling to $189.96, CNBC reported in September.
“Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, many related to misuse or abuse of prescription opioids,” Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill wrote in a letter to Pfizer CEO Ian Read dated Nov. 28, a copy of which was obtained by CNBC.
