First responders getting discount on Narcan through state deal

Deal would cut cost of antidote by $50.

A cost-cutting deal announced Thursday between the state of Wisconsin and a pharmacy company could save some money for local first responders.

Adapt Pharma has agreed to give a 40-percent discount to first responders and others that stock inhalable doses of Narcan, which reverses an opiate overdose.

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel says he used to think the life-saving drug simply enabled more drug use.

“I came around and I learned the imp lesson that the person who’s addicted to opioids is going to use, whether the life-saving antidote id available or not,” Schimel said. “We cannot get them help if they’re not alive.”

The discount is available for any local government or agency that buys at least 48 units of Narcan Nasal Spray directly from manufacturer Adapt Pharma.

The cost cut drops the price of double 4-milligram doses of the spray from $125 to $75.