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SALT LAKE CITY — Deaths caused opioid overdoses are a big issue across the country, and Utah has been hit especially hard. Naloxone can save a person from an overdose in minutes, but one form of the life-saving drug is getting pricey.
Evzio is one of the easiest-to-use naloxone drugs on the market. But a recent report by Kaiser Health News shows the drug has seen a price increase of more than 600 percent since 2014.
"Some people refer to (naloxone) as 'the Lazarus drug.' It can take as little as a minute to three minutes to have a reaction in the body," said Sam Plumb, who started the organization Utah Naloxone with the help of his sister.
The brother-sister team created the organization to generate awareness of the life-saving powers naloxone holds. Their mission is a personal one, after losing their brother Andy to a drug overdose.
"Our brother was overdosing and his friends panicked, buried the drugs and took off," Plumb said.
An EMT told Plumb and his sister that naloxone would have saved Andy. Now, they try to make sure everyone has access to the drug.
"We've gotten out over 6,000 free kits in the state of Utah and we've had nearly 500 lives saved as a result," Plumb said.
The price increase on Evzio hasn't affected Utah Naloxone because it uses a different, cheaper form of the drug. But Plumb said if cheaper forms weren't available, there could be problems.
"If it were to come to a point where, say, they mandated an FDA-approved device, you can see how problematic that could potentially be for community organizations," he said.
On Feb. 8, 31 U.S. senators signed a letter asking Kaléo Pharmaceuticals — the company that makes Evzio — to explain the price increase, saying, "Such a steep rise in the cost of this drug threatens to price-out families and communities that depend on naloxone to save lives."
Meanwhile, in a statement to the Liberty Tribune, Kaléo president and CEO Scott Williamson said the company has programs to help people get Evzio for $0 out of pocket, and they've donated nearly 200,000 doses of the drug.
"Our goal at Kaleo is to ensure the broadest access possible to this potentially life-saving medication," Williamson told the paper.
He also said the company is working on an answer to the senators' questions.
In the end, whatever form of naloxon people use, Plumb is just happy to see a broader access to it.
"It's amazing what can be done when you give people the power to save the ones they love," he said.
Contributing: Jordan Ormond
Sean Moody is a reporter for KSL TV. Contact him at smoody@ksl.com.
