Approval granted Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a user-friendly opioid overdose antidote could help curb the growing public health crisis of U.S. overdose deaths.
The new handheld device Evzio delivers a single dose of naloxone, a receptor antagonist that can quickly reverse the effects of opioid overdose, via a small automatic injector. It’s intended for use by friends and family members of patients or addicts as an emergency measure that can be stored at home.
Naloxone commonly is administered via syringe and is used mostly by trained medical personnel and first responders. By contrast, turning on Evzio provides verbal instruction to the user describing how to deliver the medication, similar to automated defibrillators. Intranasal forms of naloxone also are available.
The number of drug overdose deaths has steadily increased for more than a decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and drug overdose deaths are now the leading cause of injury death in the United States.
“The AMA has been a longtime supporter of increasing the availability of naloxone for patients, first responders and bystanders who can help save lives and has provided resources to bolster legislative efforts to increase access to this medication in several states,” said AMA President Ardis Dee Hoven, MD, in a statement.
The AMA last month sent a letter of support for the Stop Overdose Stat Act of 2013, federal legislation that supports community-based efforts to prevent drug overdose, partly with the increased use of naloxone. Attorney General Eric Holder also last month issued recommendations that first responders carry this overdose antidote with them.
State legislation supporting naloxone also is picking up, with Ohio’s Gov. John Kasich last month signing a bill into law that allows friends or family members of patients or addicts to administer naloxone without fear of prosecution. Ohio joins California, Colorado, New Jersey Oklahoma and Tennessee in the cadre of states making it easier for health professionals to prescribe, dispense and distribute naloxone, and at least 17 states allow naloxone to be distributed to the public. Two bills are heading to the governors’ desks in Wisconsin and Maine as well.
More than 20 states are considering naloxone-related legislation this year, and the AMA is engaged in supporting these state efforts. The AMA also has worked with several national organizations to increase support for increased availability of and access to naloxone, including the National Governors Association, National Conference of Insurance Legislators and the National Safety Council.
Visit the AMA’s Web page on combating prescription drug abuse and diversion to learn more about how the AMA is working with state medical associations, federal agencies and lawmakers to stop prescription drug abuse while protecting access to care for patients who need it.
