It was cast as a lifesaving medication, a “best-in-class” overdose antidote built specifically for the fentanyl era. It was far more powerful than Narcan, the nasal spray it was designed to supplant. Data suggested that the newer spray, Opvee, would restore breathing faster, averting death and brain injury for thousands of Americans who experience an opioid overdose. As billions of opioid settlement dollars became available to public health programs, the medication’s manufacturer projected annual profits as high as $250 million.
There was just one problem: The people Opvee was designed to help didn’t want it.
Barely two years since its launch, the medication’s manufacturer, Indivior, has largely abandoned it. Opvee had become more trouble than it was worth: It was a lightning rod among harm reduction organizations, who saw the nasal spray as unnecessary and, because it could cause severe withdrawal, actively harmful to drug users’ well-being. Demand was meager, even before New York’s attorney general launched an investigation into Indivior’s sales tactics. In September, the company stopped marketing the medication altogether.
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