Drug Maker Extends $6 Discount On Heroin Antidote In NY

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says a drug maker has agreed to extend a price cut for a heroin overdose antidote bought by hundreds of government agencies around the state.

California-based Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will continue to offer a $6-per-dose rebate through January 2018 for naloxone, which can quickly reverse an opioid overdose.

Schneiderman says Thursday that more than 200 agencies in the state have saved $1.7 million on the drug since the discount went into effect in February 2015. There were 278,000 discounted syringes purchased under the deal.

The roughly 20 percent rebate is available to police departments, public health entities and county governments.

The deal calls for the rebate to automatically increase to match any growth in the wholesale price.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]