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 The spray, developed by privately held Adapt Pharma Ltd, uses
naloxone, a drug used to treat opioid overdose for nearly 45 years
but approved only in injectable forms.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates
opioid overdose led to about 23,500 deaths in the United States in
2013, a four-fold jump from 1999.
A majority of these deaths occur in non-medical settings, stressing
the need for user-friendly treatments that can be administered
without the help of a medical practitioner, Adapt Chief Executive
Seamus Mulligan told Reuters.
The treatment, Narcan, which Adapt plans to launch by January, is
expected to have wide coverage under health insurance with
affordable co-pays, Mulligan added.
Ireland-based Adapt bought the development and commercialization
rights to Narcan from London-based Lightlake Therapeutics Inc in
December 2014.
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Group purchasers, such as law enforcement, fire fighters,
departments of health, local school districts, colleges and
universities, and community-based organizations will be able to
purchase the spray at a discounted price of $37.50 per 4 mg device,
Mulligan said.
(Reporting by Amrutha Penumudi and Rosmi Shaji in Bengaluru; Editing
by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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