Arizona to receive 55,000 units of naloxone over next 2 years as part of national opioid settlement
Dec 21, 2023, 4:15 AM
Arizona will receive 55,000 units of opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone during the next two years. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Arizona will get 55,000 units of opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone during the next two years from Teva Pharmaceuticals as of part its national settlement.
The first shipment will be distributed to five Arizona counties in June. About 7,000 units will be sent initially across Yuma, Pima, Navajo, Mohave and Gila counties.
Each unit contains two doses of naxolone, the generic equivalent of Narcan. The counties were selected based on need, storage capacity and staffing, according to a press release from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
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“The option of ordering naloxone means that we can help prevent overdoses, especially as one fentanyl pill can kill,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in the release.
“By getting this life-saving drug to our county health departments and directly into the hands of our communities, we’re going to save lives.”
Who will benefit from the naloxone unit distribution in Arizona?
The units are set to be available at public libraries, inmate reentry programs, community-based service groups, emergency rooms and other distribution points.
Arizona will continue to receive units of naloxone from Teva for eight additional years as part of the settlement. The company settled over claims it accelerated the opioid epidemic in the country.
Arizona will also get $85 million as part of the settlement.
“Too many families in our state have been shattered by the opioid epidemic,” Mayes said. “States like Arizona are holding the pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers that perpetuated this crisis accountable.”
