CVS Health and Adapt Pharma announce joint Narcan discount program
WOONSOCKET, R.I. - CVS Health and Adapt Pharma on Friday announced a new partnership that will make the opioid overdose-reversing drug Narcan (Naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray more affordable for patients without insurance at CVS Pharmacy locations. Through this partnership, CVS Pharmacy patients purchasing Narcan Nasal Spray without insurance will receive a $35 discount coupon to purchase the medication, reducing the out-of-pocket cost by nearly 25%.
Narcan Nasal Spray is the first and only FDA-approved, ready-to-use nasal formulation of naloxone for the emergency treatment of opioid overdose and is available in a convenient box containing two units (each unit delivers a concentrated 4mg dose of active medication-naloxone hydrochloride- in a .1ml mist) for immediate use if the need arises.
"Having a ready-to-use dose of naloxone in a nasal spray device makes administration of this life-saving medication quick and easy for friends and families of loved ones struggling with addiction in an emergency overdose situation," stated Tom Davis,VP pharmacy professional practices at CVS Health. "Through this partnership with Adapt Pharma, Narcan Nasal Spray will be more affordable for CVS Pharmacy patients who don't have insurance. CVS Health is dedicated to helping communities address and prevent prescription drug abuse, which is why we have worked to increase access to the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone for patients," he said. "Using a physician's standing order or collaborative practice agreement, we have eliminated the need for patients to obtain a prescription for naloxone in 31 states across the country."
"This partnership is an important milestone in increasing access to FDA-approved naloxone formulations across U.S. communities. We are encouraged by the progress marked by CVS Pharmacy's decision to improve affordability of Narcan Nasal Spray, especially within states with standing orders, which allow patient access to this opioid overdose treatment without physician-written naloxone prescriptions," said Seamus Mulligan, chairman and CEO of Adapt Pharma. "Narcan Nasal Spray was designed with communities in mind, specifically breaking down barriers to a medication that has been proven, intuitive and ready-to-use by those most likely to encounter an overdose emergency, the friends, loved ones and caregivers of patients susceptible to opioid-related overdose. Now these community members will be able to access the first and only FDA-approved, ready-to-use nasal spray version of naloxone in thousands of CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide."
CVS Health's naloxone program establishes a standing order with a physician, which permits CVS Pharmacists to dispense naloxone to patients without an individual prescription. By August 2016, CVS Health will make this medication more accessible to CVS Pharmacy patients in 31 states.