The FDA said Thursday it is streamlining the labeling for naloxone, a prescription drug that can reverse an opioid overdose if caught early enough. The change will enable drugmakers to produce over-the-counter versions of the medication that some have criticized as prohibitively expensive and difficult to buy.
With over 115 Americans dying a day in the opioid epidemic, naloxone has become a necessity for first responders, doctors and everyday people. In April, in response to the national opioid crisis, the U.S. surgeon general came out with an advisory calling on more Americans to carry naloxone: elderly patients on painkillers, bartenders and librarians, mothers with addicted children and children with addicted mothers. But making naloxone accessible – getting it to those who need it – is complicated.
New and more potent fentanyl may need multiple doses of the overdose antidote naloxone as deaths due to illicit versions of the opioid continue to rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency issued a new public health alert to local health departments and related law enforcement on rising numbers of deaths related to fentanyl and similar products.
A new study published by the scientific journal Addiction has found that a concentrated 2mg intranasal naloxone spray delivers naloxone as effectively, over the critical first 15 minutes, as the standard 0.4mg intramuscular (IM) naloxone injection. The research was co-authored by Professor Sir John Strang and Dr Rebecca McDonald, National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London.
Too many Americans die of overdoses that could be prevented by a combination of policy shifts and education. New efforts to fight overdose—like a recently announced Obama administration initiative—are underway. But surprisingly, for a condition that is so common and so deadly, some key details remain widely unknown—details that could be life-saving in the right hands. If we want to prevent overdose, we need to gather and distribute this information to those who need it most.
