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Following the early April release of the Surgeon
General’s Advisory on Naloxone and Opioid Overdose, which
recommended that opioid treatment providers prescribe or dispense
naloxone to patients with elevated risk of overdose, two naloxone
manufacturers (Adapt Pharma and kaleo, Inc.) announced this week
that they will be partnering with the National Council on
Behavioral Health to distribute 30,000 doses of donated naloxone to
National Council members.
Upon the announcement, Health and Human Services
Secretary Alex Azar released the following statement:
“Thousands of Americans are alive today thanks to the
use of naloxone, and this week’s generous donation will help
thousands more as they work to enter recovery safely from opioid addiction.
HHS has made the targeted availability and distribution of naloxone
one of the five pillars of its strategy for taking on this
epidemic, and we are proud to see private-sector partnerships
supporting those efforts.”
Surgeon General Jerome Adams released the following
statement:
“Lives are saved every day by community members using
naloxone. People with opioid use disorder are at highest risk for
overdose within 30 days of completing treatment, particularly if
they are not receiving medication to support their recovery. My
office’s recent advisory emphasizes the importance of giving
naloxone to those leaving treatment for opioid use disorder, and
this week’s announcement is an important step in getting naloxone
to the people who need it most, when they need it most. It is
partnerships like these—between the private sector, treatment
providers, and so many more sectors of society—that will help us
defeat this epidemic.”
Those currently completing treatment in public or
non-profit treatment programs receiving the donations will receive
two take-home doses of naloxone for free.
Under the Trump Administration, HHS has advanced the
overdose-reversing drugs element of its five-point strategy by:
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Distributing $44.7 million in grants through the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
to local communities to help equip first responders with naloxone;
·
Providing $1 billion thus far to help states expand
prevention, treatment, and recovery services, including through the
supply of naloxone;
·
Working with Congress to secure another $1 billion in
2018 funding to support states’ work on similar efforts;
·
Issuing the first Surgeon General’s Advisory in 13
years, encouraging Americans to carry naloxone; and
·
Announcing earlier this month through SAMHSA a new
funding opportunity for treatment centers to provide naloxone
through Improving Access to Overdose Treatment grants, totaling up
to $4.7 million over the next five years.
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