ADAPT Pharma® Welcomes Surgeon General Naloxone Advisory

Strengthens Partnerships to Expand NARCAN® (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray Affordable Access and Awareness

News provided by

ADAPT Pharma

Apr 05, 2018, 02:34 ET

DUBLIN, April 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ADAPT Pharma® (Adapt) (www.adaptpharma.com) welcomes the Surgeon General Advisory emphasizing the importance of naloxone.   The Advisory encourages those at increased risk, their friends and family, and other potential witnesses, to be prepared to respond to an opioid overdose emergency, by obtaining naloxone.  Those at higher risk include those taking higher doses of opioid pain medicine, those taking opioid pain medicine and benzodiazepine sleeping aides concurrently, as well as those misusing licit or illicit opioids.  The Advisory also encourages healthcare providers to provide patients opioid risk education and to prescribe or dispense naloxone to those at increased risk of an opioid overdose, and notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises health care providers to consider offering naloxone to individuals when factors that increase risk for overdose or concurrent benzodiazepine use are present. 

NARCAN® Nasal Spray 4mg is the only FDA-approved, needle-free formulation of naloxone for the emergency treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose
NARCAN® Nasal Spray 4mg is the only FDA-approved, needle-free formulation of naloxone for the emergency treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose

NARCAN® (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray is the leading community use naloxone and has extensive insurance coverage, low co-pays and is available directly from pharmacists in 49 states without an individualized prescription.* Health insurance is used for 95% of all NARCAN® Nasal Spray dispensed prescriptions.  NARCAN® Nasal Spray is discounted by 40% to $37.50 per 4mg dose ($75 per carton of 2 doses) for all qualified group purchasers such as EMS, Fire Departments, Police, governmental entities and community organizations.

Strengthened partnerships

In addition, today CVS Health, Walgreens and Harvard Pilgrim each announced the strengthening of their respective efforts with Adapt, which focus on raising awareness of, and improving affordable access to, NARCAN® Nasal Spray.  Highlights of these efforts include:

CVS Health

Walgreens
  • All CVS pharmacies (more than 9,800) are stocked with NARCAN® Nasal Spray which may be dispensed without the need for a personalized prescription in most states.†
  • All Walgreen pharmacies (more than 8,100) are stocked with NARCAN® Nasal Spray which may be dispensed without the need for a personalized prescription in most states.†

 
  • CVS Pharmacy will accept and automatically apply a coupon for NARCAN® Nasal Spray for patients without insurance for an out of pocket cost of $94.99.
  • Educating all pharmacists on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain and adopting recommendations that patients should be counseled about naloxone when they are dispensed an opioid prescription of greater than 50 daily morphine milligram equivalents (MME) and may be at increased risk of an accidental overdose.
  • CVS Pharmacy is further expanding its ongoing efforts to educate patients about naloxone consistent with the Surgeon General's Advisory on Naloxone and Opioid Overdose and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain .

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

  • Offering NARCAN® Nasal Spray to members at $0 copay to eliminate the financial barrier to access.
  • Offering training on the use of NARCAN® Nasal Spray to all employees and planning to expand this training to its employer groups with help from Adapt's training videos.

"Each day we lose 115 Americans to an opioid overdose – that's one person every 12.5 minutes," said Surgeon General Adams. "It is time to make sure more people have access to this lifesaving medication, because 77 percent of opioid overdose deaths occur outside of a medical setting and more than half occur at home."

"We are committed to raising awareness of, and ensuring affordable access to, NARCAN® Nasal Spray," said Seamus Mulligan, Chairman and CEO of Adapt. "Today's announcements support our efforts to get this emergency treatment for opioid overdose into all places where opioids present a risk and into the hands of all who may be at increased likelihood of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose."

Indications

NARCAN® (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray is an opioid antagonist indicated for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose, as manifested by respiratory and/or central nervous system depression. NARCAN® Nasal Spray is intended for immediate administration as emergency therapy in settings where opioids may be present. NARCAN® Nasal Spray is not a substitute for emergency medical care.

Important Safety Information

NARCAN® (naloxone HCI) Nasal Spray is contraindicated in patients known to be hypersensitive to naloxone hydrochloride or to any of the other ingredients.

Seek emergency medical assistance immediately after initial use, keeping the patient under continued surveillance.

Risk of Recurrent Respiratory and CNS Depression: Due to the duration of action of naloxone relative to the opioid, keep the patient under continued surveillance and administer repeat doses of naloxone using a new nasal spray with each dose, as necessary, while awaiting emergency medical assistance.

Risk of Limited Efficacy with Partial Agonists or Mixed Agonists/Antagonists: Reversal of respiratory depression caused by partial agonists or mixed agonists/antagonists, such as buprenorphine and pentazocine, may be incomplete. Larger or repeat doses may be required.

Precipitation of Severe Opioid Withdrawal: Use in patients who are opioid dependent may precipitate opioid withdrawal characterized by body aches, fever, sweating, runny nose, sneezing, piloerection, yawning, weakness, shivering or trembling, nervousness, restlessness or irritability, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, abdominal cramps, increased blood pressure, and tachycardia. In some patients, there may be aggressive behavior upon abrupt reversal of an opioid overdose. In neonates, opioid withdrawal may be life-threatening if not recognized and properly treated and may also include convulsions, excessive crying, and hyperactive reflexes. Monitor for the development of opioid withdrawal.

Risk of Cardiovascular (CV) Effects: Abrupt postoperative reversal of opioid depression may result in adverse CV effects. These events have primarily occurred in patients who had pre-existing CV disorders or received other drugs that may have similar adverse CV effects. Monitor these patients closely in an appropriate healthcare setting after use of naloxone hydrochloride.

Adverse Reactions:  The following adverse reactions were observed in a NARCAN® Nasal Spray clinical study: increased blood pressure, constipation, toothache, muscle spasms, musculoskeletal pain, headache, nasal dryness, nasal edema, nasal congestion, nasal inflammation, rhinalgia, and xeroderma.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact ADAPT Pharma, Inc. at 1-844-4NARCAN (1-844-462-7226) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Please see full Prescribing Information at: https://www.narcan.com/pdf/NARCAN-Prescribing-Information.pdf.

For additional information on NARCAN® Nasal Spray, please visit www.NARCAN.com.

For questions regarding NARCAN® Nasal Spray distribution, please call 1-844-4NARCAN (462-7226).

ABOUT ADAPT PHARMA®

ADAPT Pharma® is a privately-held company committed to expanding affordable access to NARCAN® (naloxone HCI) Nasal Spray and to progressing treatment options in the field of addiction. ADAPT Pharma's company headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland with U.S. headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit www.adaptpharma.com.

* 95% of insured lives have access to NARCAN® Nasal Spray and seventy-seven percent of specified co-pays on dispensed prescriptions at retail pharmacies are $10 or less.
† State laws may vary.

SOURCE ADAPT Pharma

Related Links

http://www.adaptpharma.com

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