EBS Emergent Biosolutions Inc

By Will Feuer

Shares of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. rose after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the company's overdose reversal medication Narcan could be sold over-the-counter for the first time since the opioid crisis began.

The stock climbed more than 17% to $10.45 in premarket trading.

"Today's approval of OTC naloxone nasal spray will help improve access to naloxone, increase the number of locations where it's available and help reduce opioid overdose deaths throughout the country," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said. "We encourage the manufacturer to make accessibility to the product a priority by making it available as soon as possible and at an affordable price."

Emergent said Narcan, the nasal-spray version of the medication naloxone, would likely begin appearing on shelves by late summer. Emergent is the first company to gain approval to sell naloxone without a prescription.

Narcan nasal spray was first approved by the FDA in 2015 as a prescription drug.

Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 29, 2023 09:24 ET (13:24 GMT)

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