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All US public libraries and YMCAs may soon be equipped with Narcan to combat drug-related deaths by expanding access to naloxone-based nasal spray with opioid overdose reversal.
Emergent BioSolutions, which completed this month's acquisition of manufacturer Narcan Adapt Pharma, will supply a free kit of two doses of nasal spray and educational materials to each of the 16,568 public libraries and 2,700 YMCAs in the United States, according to the press release. an announcement posted on Wednesday. The initiative builds on the Narcan program in schools, which allows the company to distribute four free doses of Narcan to each US high school and up to eight doses to institutions with long-term degrees. two or four years.
"These two programs reflect our desire to educate the public about the potential risks of opioids and about the critical role of naloxone in an opioid-related overdose emergency and reinforce our mission: to protect and improve life, "Doug White, vice president of Emergent, said: The company's business unit features, said in a statement.
The announcement coincides with President Donald Trump's signature of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which aims to combat the country's opioid epidemic. . The law includes, among other things, provisions to expand access to naloxone and reduce costs, which can cost between $ 20 and $ 40 for a generic dose; a Narcan kit can cost more than $ 100. The legislation also aims to make drug treatment reimbursable under Medicaid, free resources for the fight against drug addiction and lift restrictions on people who can prescribe drugs to treat opioid abuse disorders.
The use of Narcan and naloxone in general has been widespread in recent years. It is now worn by many first responders – another initiative that will be expanded under the new opioid law – and is available at major retailers such as Walgreens and CVS, often without a prescription. In April, Dr. Jerome Adams, a general surgeon, called on more Americans to carry naloxone, noting that "keeping it close at hand can save a life."
Preliminary federal data suggest that drug overdose deaths are slowing down, but many more Americans are still dying from drug-related deaths than in recent decades. Overdoses of opioids, in particular, have increased exponentially in recent years, killing every day about 115 Americans.
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