Walgreens announced it will begin selling its own generic version of the lifesaving medication Narcan.
The Walgreens version of the over-the-counter drug that can help reverse an opioid overdose will retail for $34.99, which is $10 cheaper than the brand-name version.
You can’t find it in stores just yet, but it is already available online, the company said. By the end of the month, it will be found at Walgreens locations across the country in the pain medication aisle.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the medication — naloxone — to be sold directly to customers without the need for a prescription last year.
In the event of an overdose, the nasal spray can temporarily reverse the effects of opioids, including heroin and fentanyl.
Even as the number of fatal overdoses fell in the U.S. last year according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday, the national drug-death epidemic is ongoing, officials said.
Making naloxone available more widely is seen as a key strategy to control the overdose crisis, especially since the majority of those deaths are tied to opioids.
