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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the lifesaving drug, Narcan, for over-the-counter and online sale. The nasal spray can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The 4 milligram naloxone is already used for opioid overdose emergencies.
"Today's action paves the way for life-saving medication to reverse an opioid overdose to be sold directly to consumers in places like drug stores, convenience stores, grocery stores and gas stations, as well as online," the FDA released in a statement.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 101,751 reported fatal overdoses in a one year period ending in October. This is primarily caused by synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
The manufacturer, Emergent BioSolutions, determines the availability and price the drug. Emergent BioSolutions hopes to make the nasal spray available to stores and online by late summer. There has been no mention of cost at this time. CEO, Robert Kramer released a statement stating, "Today's landmark FDA OTC approval for Narcan Nasal Spray marks a historic milestone as we have delivered on our commitment to make this important emergency treatment widely accessible, given the alarming rates of opioid overdoses occurring across the country."
Narcan was first approved in 2015 by prescription only. After going through the process to change it's status from prescription to nonprescription, the FDA approved of the change of status on March 29.
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