President Joe Biden’s administration is taking steps to increase access to the life-saving medication naloxone, used to reverse opioid overdoses. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is planning to meet with manufacturers to discuss ways to make the medication more accessible and affordable.
Opioid abuse has been a major public health crisis in the US for over two decades, with more than half a million Americans dying from overdoses. Naloxone is seen as a key tool to help someone survive an overdose.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an over-the-counter version of Emergent BioSolutions Inc’s Narcan earlier this year, and the first generic version of the medication was approved in 2021.
The ONDCP is hoping to discuss the true out-of-pocket costs for patients, including how Medicare and private insurers will cover Narcan as an over-the-counter product. It is not yet known which pharmaceutical makers the White House has planned to invite to the meeting.
The Biden administration is committed to making naloxone more accessible and affordable, in order to save more lives.