A company will provide free drugs to libraries

Public libraries across the country are at the forefront of the opioid epidemic and they will now be eligible to receive a drug that could make the difference between life and death. Emergent BioSolutions, a biopharmaceutical company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, announced on October 24 its intention to offer two free doses of the nasal spray version of the Narcan anti-overdose drug (naloxone hydrochloride) to the 16,568 libraries in the United States.

The drug maker announced the offer (including the distribution of Narcan to 2,700 local YMCAs) to the White House, where President Trump has signed a law to curb the opioid crisis. Thom Duddy, spokesperson for Emergent BioSolutions, said that the company's announcement was not directly related to the legislation, but that the administration had asked the company to participate at the event. "We thought it was a good time to announce the program," says Duddy.

Narcan is already used in some libraries to save lives. Michelle Jeske, City Librarian of the Denver Public Library (DPL) and a member of the Public Library Association (PLA) Board of Directors, explains that DPL has begun training staff to use Narcan at beginning of 2017.

The Debian project leader administered Narcan 14 times that year and a handful of times in 2018. "These are lives we have saved," she says. "These things can happen and actually happen in libraries because these are very public places."

Jeske says that the Debian project leader paid for the drug initially, but he was able to reduce costs and in some cases get Narcan for free by collaborating with the city and other agencies. to provide grants. In an Emergent BioSolutions press release, she notes that "Libraries are collaborating with other government agencies to identify and share critical information and resources, organize community forums, and train staff in the management of information. overdoses. It is a step in a long way towards sustainable solutions based on the community. "

The press release states that Narcan Nasal Spray is the only needle-free overdose reversal drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and requires no assembly or specialized training.

Emergent BioSolutions has a precedent for Narcan's donation. In partnership with the Clinton Foundation, she is committed to donating 20,000 boxes to more than 4,700 American universities in 2017. She has expanded the offering to all high schools, colleges and universities. and universities in the United States earlier this year. The company has also subscribed a toolbox available on the website of the National Association of School Nurses.

The announcement comes just weeks after PLA launched its collaboration with OCLC on a project to tackle the opioid crisis. Jeske sits on the steering committee of this program, which will produce case studies of eight communities where public libraries are actively working to respond to the opioid crisis. This effort is funded by a $ 249,714 national leadership grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Duddy says that libraries are a natural fit for the Narcan program because of their connection to the public and their mandate to educate clients. "Libraries in the Philadelphia area have recently attracted national media attention by having Narcan at the library," he says. "What better place to do this than in a public library?"

Update: Corrected "Administrative Units of Public Libraries" in "Public Library Sites", October 24, 2018