Following Ongoing Efforts from Senator Hassan, Naloxone Could Soon Be Available Over the Counter Nationwide

WASHINGTON – Following ongoing efforts from Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), naloxone manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced that it is working to make the life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication available over the counter more easily nationwide, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is fast-tracking the application, which could be approved by Spring 2023.

Earlier this year, Senator Hassan and a bipartisan group of colleagues urged seven major manufacturers of naloxone to apply for over-the-counter status for their products to help increase access and save lives. Senator Hassan also successfully led a bipartisan push calling on the FDA to increase community organizations’ access to naloxone. In New Hampshire, a state law has made naloxone available over the counter in many pharmacies.

“As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage communities in New Hampshire and throughout the country, we need to be doing all that we can help save lives,” said Senator Hassan. “When an overdose occurs, naloxone can be the difference between life and death, and it is essential to keep expanding access to this critical medication. This announcement is an important step forward, and it is part of the comprehensive approach that we must take to tackle this crisis – including prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts.”

Senator Hassan is working to address the opioid epidemic. Since 2017, Senator Hassan has successfully worked to secure a nine-fold increase in funding to New Hampshire to address the substance use disorder epidemic. Last year following Senator Hassan’s advocacy, the Biden administration removed some requirements that limited health care providers’ ability to prescribe medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder. Senator Hassan is continuing to press for passage of the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, a bipartisan bill that she reintroduced last year with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), that would fully eliminate bureaucratic barriers to treatment.

###