SF dog treated with Narcan after possible fentanyl exposure amid advancements in overdose reversals
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A San Francisco dog owner is spreading the word after her 1-year-old French Bulldog was believed to have been exposed to fentanyl Friday in the Nob Hill neighborhood.
"She started this moaning that was just so heart wrenching," said Mira Larkin, calling it a routine day with her dog, Rori playing at Huntington Park, but when they began walking, she says something went wrong.
"She kept moaning and moaning and moaning, and I was like, Rori, Rori," explained Larkin, rushing Rori to the vet. "They take her in. They say we see this every day. We see this every day," she said. "They come out not more than three or four minutes later and tell me that she's, like, wide awake. They gave her a Narcan shot immediately and it brought her back within seconds."
VIDEO: Fentanyl awareness 'Jolly10K' run Saturday organized by South Bay mom after losing son to drug
In March, the FDA approved Narcan for sale over-the-counter and this past week a second approval to a nonprofit pharmaceutical company.
"Right now over two hundred Americans die every day of opioid overdose," said Michael Hufford, CEO, Harm Reduction Therapeutics. "What's remarkable is that we have a safe and effective life-saving antidote in naloxone. That just needs to be more widely available at a lower cost. We really took the profit-motive out of the equation. And so our goal is to make our product, which is Revive, which is a three-milligram intranasal naloxone nasal spray available as widely and as cheaply as possible."
The company plans to start distribution early next year, putting a million twin packs of naloxone spray into the hands of agencies working on the frontlines - 10% will go out for free and the rest sold at a break-even cost of 36 dollars per pack.
"So the first year we'll be giving 100,000 boxes of naloxone the extent to which we're able to increase funds though we can either increase that or lower the price so it's even more readily available," said Hufford.
VIDEO: SF could soon mandate that overdose reversal drug Narcan be stocked in all pharmacies
"The reason I think this is a game changer is now we have a product in the marketplace that is going to competitively bring prices down. I think that is a good thing when we're talking about expanding access," said Supervisor Matt Dorsey.
Dorsey recently introduced legislation that would make San Francisco the first city in the country requiring pharmacies to stock naloxone spray.
"Ideally, we want to make this universally accessible," said Dorsey.
Meanwhile, Larkin has a message for dog owners.
"I want people to be careful with their pups," said Larkin. "Keep an eye out. Look out for the symptoms of opiate intoxication so that it's not too late."
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