(NEWS CENTER) -- A group of senators - including Maine's Angus King - are demanding answers in the latest instance of a price spike for a life-saving drug.
Last year, it was the epi-pen. Now, it's another kind of injector called Evzio.
It's used to deliver the drug naloxone which helps people overdosing on opioids - such as heroin - stay alive until they can get to the hospital.
Evzio is made by Kaleo Pharmaceuticals - and since 2014, the price of a two pack on injectors has gone up $690 to $4500.
Maine had 378 people die of drug overdoses in 2016 - 313 of which were opioid overdoses - which is why many of the state's first responders carry the life-saving drug naloxone.
For this reason, Senator King says this price hike is personal.
King is among a group of Senators who sent a letter to Spencer Williamson, the President and CEO of Kaleo Pharmaceuticals, asking for an explanation to the dramatic price hike.
In the letter, the Senators also explain the nature of the current heroin crisis and why devices like Evzio are needed particularly in rural areas.
Apart from Senator King and Senator Bernie Sanders - both independents -- 29 Democrats signed it...but, no Republicans.
Senator King says he was surprised it didn't garner more bipartisan support. "I generally try to do everything down here on the bipartisan basis, and I don't know why there aren't Republican signatories because this drug crisis is affecting every state in the union, and some of the Republican states are the most hard hit," he said.
A full copy of the letter can be found here.
In June of 2016, Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) and MIssouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) sent letters to five pharmaceutical companies, including Kaleo, to ensure that naloxone and other drugs of its kind remain accessible and not too expensive.