For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a naloxone product — a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose — that can be purchased over-the-counter.
The medication, Narcan, is a nasal spray that was approved as a prescription drug back in 2015, according to the FDA. To change the drug's status, the manufacturer provided data demonstrating that Narcan is safe and effective when used as directed and can be safely used by consumers without supervision. Based on this data, an advisory committee unanimously recommended that the drug be cleared for over-the-counter use, and the FDA has now acted on this recommendation.
