Naloxone

This peer reviewed journal article OUD treatment and pregnancy outcomes among pregnant patients receiving OUD care through a telehealth addiction treatment program in the US. The patients identified in the study received buprenorphine or buprenorphine and naloxone treatment. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has naloxone trainings and fact sheets available for clinicians. The trainings and fact sheets can help clinicians raise awareness about the benefits of naloxone by talking with patients and their family, friends, and caregivers.

The FDA announced that the manufacturer of NARCAN 4 mg Nasal Spray products, Emergent BioSolutions, has extended the shelf-life of their product from 3 years to 4 years. This new extension of shelf-life was requested by the FDA to help prevent overdoses and reduce overdose-related deaths.

At the end of July 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray product, RiVive. The agency who received the approval to manufacture the product, Harm Reduction Therapeutics, does not yet have a timeline of availability and decision on pricing. 

Disparities in access to naloxone exist and organizations are working to remove some of these barriers by utilizing innovative methods such as vending machines to distribute the overdose medication. This provides life-saving medication in an accessible way to everyone, although laws vary state to state on the distribution of these tools. More information on naloxone vending machines can be found in these resources by the Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) and The Network for Public Health Law.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the makers of Narcan, an opioid overdose treatment, have the agency’s approval to make the drug widely available over the counter (OTC).  Narcan is the brand name of the drug naloxone, a fast-acting overdose reversal. Until now, availability varied by state – typically restricted to licensed health care providers, approved opioid overdose programs, and first responders. This is an important consideration for rural counties given that research shows that these areas are nearly three times more likely than metropolitan counties to be a low-dispensing county for naloxone.

Racial/ethnic minorities have experienced disproportionate opioid-related overdose death rates in recent years. In this context, inequities were examined in community-based naloxone access across racial/ethnic groups in Massachusetts.

Nitazenes are a novel group of powerful illicit synthetic opioids derived from 2-benzylbenzimidazole that have been linked to overdose deaths in several states. Nitazenes were created as a potential pain reliever medication nearly 60 years ago but have never been approved for use in the United States. Laboratory test results indicate that the potency of certain nitazene analogs (e.g., isotonitazene, protonitazene, and etonitazene) greatly exceeds that of fentanyl, whereas the potency of the analog metonitazene is similar to fentanyl.

This fact sheet discusses new amendments to Tennessee’s naloxone access laws that went into effect on July 1, 2022. These amendments increase access to naloxone in several ways and remove some confusing language that previously limited the impact of state efforts to increase access to lifesaving opioid antagonist medications

This observational study of 719 612 pharmacy claims data shows that OOP costs of naloxone grew substantially beginning in 2016. However, OOP costs did not increase for all patients and all brands of naloxone but primarily for uninsured patients and for the Evzio brand. The findings suggest that the OOP cost of naloxone has been an increasingly substantial barrier to naloxone access for uninsured patients, a population that constitutes nearly one-fifth of adults with opioid use disorder.