Approval provides an alternative for family members
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Narcan nasal spray, the first FDA-approved nasal spray version of naloxone.
Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can stop or reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Opioids are a class of drugs including heroin as well as prescription medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine. Up until this approval, naloxone was only approved in injectable forms and delivered by paramedics.
The training of family members and caregivers with the use of naloxone nasal spray can increase knowledge and availability of this life-saving drug. The efficacy and feasibility of naloxone administration by non-health personnel has previously been demonstrated by several community’s programs.
The approval of the naloxone nasal spray will hopefully save many lives.
Naloxone pilot project in Norway
Nasal spray naloxone has already been introduced in Norway, as a research project from SERAF that started in June 2014. This pilot project is part of the Norwegian government's 5-year overdose strategy.
- It’s very good news that we are now finally seeing a nasal spray that are registered in the US. It is the first and we are eagerly anticipating whether it will come to Norway, says Philipp P. Lobmaier, project coordinator for the Naloxone pilot project in Norway.
- We also know that spray in a somewhat lower concentration has been used for nearly 10 years, with good effect, he explaines.
- We are now excited to see if this highly concentrated spray gets greater acceptance among users who assume that it does not trigger withdrawal symptoms every time.
Read the news release here
FDA: FDA moves quickly to approve easy-to-use nasal spray to treat opioid overdose
The Guardian: Heroin antidote Narcan as a nasal spray gets clearance from US regulators