Since Seattle Police Department officials launched a pilot program to train bike officers to administer Naloxone nasal spray in March, officers have prevented five people from heroin overdoses. As Seattle's heroin epidemic rages on, the availability of the spray is critical.

Because of the nationwide demand for the life-saving drug is increasing, prices for the five versions of Naloxone currently available on the market "have risen as much as 17-fold in the past two years, Politico reports. One version of the drug specially designed to be administered by someone without medical training "soared from $575 to $3,750 per two-dose package in just two years."

Thankfully, despite rapidly increasing prices, SPD officers recently said that the increased costs will not affect their program, Capitol Hill Seattle reported.

“Right now it is not expected to impact us,” a SPD spokesperson told CHS, saying that the supply of naloxone needed for the pilot was purchased before the price increase occurred.

The response to the nationwide spike in heroin use, the skyrocketing cost of Naloxone has pushed government officials into action.

From Politico:

The White House has stepped in, helping state and local governments combine their purchasing power to secure deeper discounts of the antidote, which works for both prescription opioids and street heroin. But complaints about soaring prices haven’t dropped off, just as public health officials are trying to make the drug more available in clinics, homes, and schools.

"You have increased demand and a few people who control the pricing, so they can charge whatever they want," said Eliza Wheeler, who runs the drug overdose prevention and education project for the Harm Reduction Coalition in Northern California.

More than 28,000 people died from opioid and heroin overdoses in 2014, more than any year on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control.