Over-The-Counter Opioid Antidote Narcan to Cost $45 in the US

Narcan, the lifesaving opioid overdose antidote, will cost about $45 for two doses when the first over-the-counter version hits drugstore shelves at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., CVS Health Corp. and other chains in the next few weeks.

Manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions Inc. has begun shipping the nasal spray to pharmacies, grocery stores and online retailers, according to a statement Wednesday. It will be available for consumers to purchase at thousands of US pharmacies as soon as early September, and companies plan to make it easy to find at pharmacy counters and checkout registers.

“Narcan should be a medicine cabinet ...