--- title: FDA to Make It Easier to Access Opioid Overdose Antidote description: The Food and Drug Administration is trying to make it easier for drug companies to make nonprescription opioid overdose antidote naloxone. canonical: https://time.com/5506251/fda-over-the-counter-opioid-overdose-antidote/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-17T21:10:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T01:15:56.000Z article:section: Health og:title: The FDA Is Trying to Make It Easier for Drug Companies to Provide OTC Opioid Overdose Antidote og:description: The move is part of a wider effort to reduce overdose deaths og:url: https://time.com/5506251/fda-over-the-counter-opioid-overdose-antidote/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd1359754b9940ff5/6989438a7cdbac695ad5ee67/naxlone-fda-easier-access.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: naxlone-fda-easier-access og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The FDA Is Trying to Make It Easier for Drug Companies to Provide OTC Opioid Overdose Antidote twitter:description: The move is part of a wider effort to reduce overdose deaths twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd1359754b9940ff5/6989438a7cdbac695ad5ee67/naxlone-fda-easier-access.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The FDA Is Trying to Make It Easier for Drug Companies to Provide Over-the-Counter Opioid Overdose Antidote > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: TIME Ideas: How Drug Companies Pushed Opioids on America [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Ideas: How Drug Companies Pushed Opioids on America](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ILWpfO2Z.m3u8) (3:10)  _Published 2019-01-17. Chris McGreal, author of "American Overdose," told TIME how the American opioid epidemic is a result of corporate greed._ by [Anna Edney / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Anna Edney / Bloomberg Contributor Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:15 AM UTCPublished: Jan 17, 2019 9:10 PM UTC  In Ontario, Canada 17% of people who die from an opioid overdose receive naloxone, indicating that it's not a foolproof antidote. The U.S. FDA announced on Jan. 17, 2019 that it is trying to make it easier for drug companies to develop over the counter opioid overdose antidotes like naloxone. In Ontario, Canada 17% of people who die from an opioid overdose receive naloxone, indicating that it's not a foolproof antidote. The U.S. FDA announced on Jan. 17, 2019 that it is trying to make it easier for drug companies to develop over the counter opioid overdose antidotes like naloxone. Bernard Weil—Toronto Star via Getty Images by [Anna Edney / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Anna Edney / Bloomberg Contributor Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:15 AM UTCPublished: Jan 17, 2019 9:10 PM UTC (Bloomberg) — The Food and Drug Administration is trying to make it easier for drug companies to make nonprescription versions of opioid overdose antidote naloxone. The agency has created sample consumer-friendly labels drugmakers can use when they apply for permission to sell over-the-counter naloxone as a nasal spray or auto-injector, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement on Thursday. This is the first time the agency has created and tested a label for a drug consumers can purchase directly, he said. ## Key Insights Emergent BioSolutions Inc. sells a prescription naloxone nasal spray known as Narcan. Opiant Pharmaceuticals Inc. developed the spray and collects royalties on it. Kaleo Inc. markets prescription Evzio, a naloxone auto-injector. Most states allow naloxone to be dispensed without a prescription but pharmacist participation has been spotty. Gottlieb said a requirement for testing showing that consumers can read a label and use a nonprescription drug properly has been a barrier for companies that want to sell over-the-counter naloxone. Companies will still have to ensure consumers understand parts of the label that are product-specific. ## Get More The move is part of a wider effort to reduce overdose deaths. The FDA has explored limiting the number of opioids per prescription. It has also required more training for medical professionals on prescribing the painkillers. 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