Purdue adds $6.5M for overdose spray

STAMFORD — Bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is pledging up to $6.5 million in additional funding to support the development of a naloxone nasal spray that would reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.

Adding to $5.9 million in funding that Purdue has given to Harm Reduction Therapeutics since 2018 for the same purpose, the companies’ agreement was approved during a federal bankruptcy court hearing held by phone Tuesday. Purdue said it does not expect to receive revenues, royalties or profits from potential sales of the naloxone drug under development by HRT, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company.

“Many public health experts have noted that putting more naloxone in the hands of friends, family and community members has the potential to save lives. Unfortunately, currently available forms of naloxone can be costly and difficult to obtain,” Purdue CEO and President Craig Landau said in a statement. “Purdue strongly believes in HRT’s efforts to make naloxone available as a low-cost product, and we hope that our support can help make their mission a reality.”

Pittsburgh-based HRT, which was founded in 2017, is working on a New Drug Application for the naloxone spray that would be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If approved by the FDA, the medication would be sold over the counter and “at a substantially lower retail cost” than other naloxone nasal sprays, according to Purdue and HRT officials.

“As an independent nonprofit pharmaceutical company, our mission is to prevent opioid overdose deaths by working to make naloxone available to everyone,” Michael Hufford, HRT’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “In developing a low-cost OTC naloxone product, we have the opportunity to significantly expand access to this potentially lifesaving medication. Purdue’s support has been crucial to our work as we look to provide a meaningful breakthrough in this ongoing public health crisis.”

The cost of naloxone — which is sold under brands including Narcan and Evzio — can vary based on how and where it is procured, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Last year, the FDA approved the first generic nasal spray to treat opioid overdoses.

Between 2017 and 2018, the number of naloxone prescriptions nationwide more than doubled to about 556,000.

But the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that only one naloxone prescription is dispensed for every 70 highdose opioid prescriptions.

“There is wide variation in prescribing and dispensing across the U.S., despite consistent state laws and recommendations,” the CDC said in a fact sheet posted on its website. “Dispensing naloxone in areas hardest hit by the opioid overdose epidemic can increase the number of overdose reversals and the opportunity to link overdose survivors into treatment.”

About 48,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. involved opioids in 2017, according to the CDC.

As part of a proposed settlement of the 3,000 lawsuits against the company for allegedly fueling the opioid crisis with deceptive opioid marketing, Purdue has pledged to donate millions of doses of opioidaddiction treatment and overdosereversal medicines to cities and states across the country.

Purdue values its offer at more than $10 billion — a deal that would need to be approved in bankruptcy court. It has denied the lawsuits’ allegations.

Twenty-four states including Connecticut have not yet agreed to settlement terms with Purdue.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong declined to comment Tuesday on the Purdue-HRT agreement.