Rebates for Life-Saving Naloxone

(Summer 2018) Thanks to a rebate offered by Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 127 Ohio organizations have saved over $732,000 on naloxone purchases between March 2015 and December 2017. The $6 rebate per dose of the opioid-reversal drug will continue for non-federal public agencies in the Buckeye State through the end of March 2019. Among those benefitting are state organizations as well as county and local government entities such as fire departments, emergency medical services, police stations and Project DAWN community programs.

As the list of opioid overdose fatalities rapidly swells, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams is asking that more Americans keep naloxone at the ready. Over two million U.S. residents suffer from an opioid use disorder, and more than 50% of opioid overdose fatalities happen at the victim’s place of residence. As such, Adams is encouraging friends, relatives and high-risk individuals to keep the antidote close by to help prevent overdose deaths. This is becoming even more important due to a dramatic upturn in deadly overdoses linked to the extremely powerful opioid fentanyl and its synthetic equivalents.

Most states have passed Good Samaritan measures to shield individuals from the legal ramifications for using naloxone on an opioid overdose victim, and many states also permit pharmacies to dispense naloxone without a prescription.

Learn how to identify an opioid overdose and take appropriate action at www.surgeongeneral.gov.

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