--- title: The FDA Just Approved the First Generic Naloxone Nasal Spray description: The FDA just gave Teva Pharmaceuticals approval to market the first generic naloxone nasal spray. Narcan is another nasal spray. canonical: https://time.com/5574107/fda-generic-naloxone-nasal-spray/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-19T17:10:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:20:42.836Z article:section: Health og:title: The FDA Just Approved the First Generic Nasal Spray to Reverse Opioid Overdoses og:description: There will now be a generic alternative to Narcan og:url: https://time.com/5574107/fda-generic-naloxone-nasal-spray/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46eb5a20113e855b/698948a4656a3f3c60bd6fe5/naloxone-injection.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Injectable naloxone og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The FDA Just Approved the First Generic Nasal Spray to Reverse Opioid Overdoses twitter:description: There will now be a generic alternative to Narcan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46eb5a20113e855b/698948a4656a3f3c60bd6fe5/naloxone-injection.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The FDA Just Approved the First Generic Nasal Spray to Reverse Opioid Overdoses  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 19, 2019 5:10 PM UTC  A Rockford, Illinois firefighter displays a dose of naloxone on July 14, 2017. A Rockford, Illinois firefighter displays a dose of naloxone on July 14, 2017.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 19, 2019 5:10 PM UTC The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [on Friday announced](https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm636333.htm) that it granted final approval to the first generic [naloxone](http://time.com/5229870/naloxone-surgeon-general-cost-where-buy/) hydrochloride nasal spray, which can be used to reverse opioid overdoses. The approval is part of the FDA’s wider effort to make tools for stopping or preventing opioid overdoses more accessible and widely used. The agency is also working with drug companies to bring [over-the-counter versions](http://time.com/5506251/fda-over-the-counter-opioid-overdose-antidote/) of naloxone to market, and is prioritizing the approval of other generic naloxone products. Friday’s announcement, which makes official a [tentative approval](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda%5Fdocs/appletter/2018/209522Orig1s000TAltr.pdf) previously granted to Teva Pharmaceuticals, means there will soon be a generic alternative to [Narcan](https://www.narcan.com/), the widely used naloxone nasal spray sold by Emergent BioSolutions. Naloxone can also be delivered by injection. Generic versions of injectable naloxone have been available for years, and can cost as little as $20 to $40\. Nasal sprays, however, provide a more user-friendly delivery vehicle that can be used even by those without medical training, such as civilians and loved ones of those struggling with substance use, as well as first responders. Nearly 50,000 Americans [died from an opioid overdose](http://time.com/5323377/opioid-overdose-deaths-underreported/) in 2017, according to [federal estimates](https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates). Heroin and prescription opioids continue to contribute to many deaths, but potent synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have become a [rapidly growing problem](http://time.com/5477073/fentanyl-overdose-deaths/) in recent years, according to federal data. The list price for a Narcan kit is set at $125, though Emergent runs several programs meant to make Narcan more affordable and accessible for first responders, government agencies and others who need it. Last year, the company offered to [distribute Narcan to every public library](http://time.com/5432950/narcan-libraries-ymca/) and YMCA in the country. Narcan can also now be purchased at many [major pharmacies](http://time.com/4999223/what-is-narcan/), and — although it is not technically an over-the-counter product — state orders often allow it to be purchased without a prescription. A Teva representative told TIME that details about the generic version’s pricing and release are not yet available. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5574107/fda-generic-naloxone-nasal-spray/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5574107/fda-generic-naloxone-nasal-spray/"},"headline":"The FDA Just Approved the First Generic Nasal Spray to Reverse Opioid Overdoses","datePublished":"2019-04-19T17:10:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:20:42.836Z","description":"There will now be a generic alternative to Narcan","url":"https://time.com/5574107/fda-generic-naloxone-nasal-spray/","keywords":["Drugs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46eb5a20113e855b/698948a4656a3f3c60bd6fe5/naloxone-injection.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46eb5a20113e855b/698948a4656a3f3c60bd6fe5/naloxone-injection.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Injectable naloxone","caption":"Injectable naloxone","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5574107/fda-generic-naloxone-nasal-spray/","name":"The FDA Just Approved the First Generic Nasal Spray to Reverse Opioid Overdoses"}}]}] ```