House Democrats Urge Trump Administration to Lower Price of Naloxone

A group of Democrats in the House is urging the Trump Administration to use federal authority to reduce the price of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, The Hill reports.

Manufacturers of naloxone are increasing prices of the drug simply because it is in high demand, the legislators said in a letter to White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. “Federal agencies have the authority to use patented inventions … when in the interest of the public good,” the lawmakers wrote. “The current opioid crisis requires invoking this provision.”

The legislators said the administration could use federal rules to acquire the patent for naloxone, and then contract with a generic manufacturer to produce a less expensive alternative.

In a news release, Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas said, “Government-approved monopolies will continue to charge monopoly prices and exploit the opioid crisis until this Administration steps in to restrain them. Law enforcement and public health budgets are buckling under ballooning prices while overdose deaths continue to rise. The Trump Administration has the authority and responsibility to step in and lower the price of these lifesaving drugs.”