Good intentions alone won’t solve the country’s opioid crisis
In April of 2021, as the country continued to suffer over 100,000 drug overdose deaths a year, the Biden administration announced that to increase access to the medication buprenorphine, which treats opioid addiction, they were removing what they believed to be regulatory “barriers” to the medication. Had they read the scientific literature on the topic, they would have seen that the regulations were never identified as significant obstacles to patients getting care.
Indivior Announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approval of OPVEE® (nalmefene) Nasal Spray, An Opioid Overdose Rescue Medicine for Natural and Synthetic Opioids Like Fentanyl
Indivior PLC (LSE: INDV) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved OPVEE® (nalmefene) nasal spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose induced by natural or synthetic opioids in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older, as manifested by respiratory and/or central nervous system depression.2 OPVEE contains nalmefene, an opioid receptor antagonist that provides fast onset and long duration reversal of opioid-induced respiratory depression, which is the primary cause of opioid overdose injury and death.2,3,4 OPVEE was designed to address the challenges of today’s opioid crisis.
Medicaid Coverage of Opioid Treatment Programs and SCDHHS Efforts to Address the Opioid Crisis
In January 2019, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) will begin to enroll opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in the Medicaid provider network and begin to reimburse for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) provided in OTPs. The addition of this benefit will make the full spectrum of pharmacotherapies approved for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) available to Medicaid members. Additional details regarding the enrollment procedures for OTPs will be provided this month.