FILE California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an event in San Francisco on Nov. 9, 2023. On Monday, April 29, 2024, Newsom announced California is partnering with New Jersey-based Amneal Pharmaceuticals to purchase a generic version of Narcan. – California is partnering with a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company to purchase a generic version of Narcan, the drug that can save someone's life during an opioid overdose, under a deal announced Monday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The deal means naloxone eventually will be available under the CalRx label. Newsom first proposed CalRx back in 2019 as an attempt to force drug companies to lower their prices by “California is disrupting the drug industry with CalRx — securing life-saving drugs at lower and transparent prices,” Newsom said in an statement provided by his office.Amneal Pharmaceuticals makes a generic equivalent to Narcan that won FDA approval last week.
Opioid overdose deaths, which are caused by heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone, have increased dramatically in California and across the country. Annual opioid overdose deaths in California more than doubled since 2019, reaching 7,385 deaths at the end of 2022.