FDA approves overdose drug Narcan as 1st over-the-counter opioid treatment

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved over-the-counter sales of Narcam, the leading version of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone. Narcan is the first opioid treatment to get approval for sale without a prescription, and advocates and the Biden administration hope wider distribution will cut the number of Americans dying from fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone, and other opioid overdoses. Almost two-thirds of the 107,000 U.S. overdose deaths recorded in 2021 were from the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

The FDA is likely to approve a second OTC naloxone spray, RiVine, which the nonprofit Harm Reduction Therapeutics sells for about $18 a unit, The Washington Post reports, and generic versions would be even cheaper if approved.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The FDA said, after Emergent studied the issue, that Narcan requires no specialty training to administer. One dose typically revives people overdosing on opioids, though fentanyl overdoses can require several doses. Before administering Narcan, people should call 911 and request an ambulance. Emergent said Narcan should be available on store shelves by late summer.

Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.