A Gaithersburg pharmaceutical company with significant Baltimore operations has acquired the maker of Narcan, a widely used opioid overdose reversal drug, and said it plans to develop more products to combat the nation’s opioid addiction and overdose epidemic.

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The number of overdose reversal drug kits distributed and overdose reversals reported in Baltimore both increased between 2015 and 2017, according to data from the city's health department.

A city audit of the department presented Wednesday found the Staying Alive Drug Overdose Prevention and Response Plan has been successful in its goal to reduce the rate of deaths from opiate-related overdoses in Baltimore.

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In its ongoing fight against a fentanyl-fueled surge in drug overdoses, the Baltimore City Health Department plans to study the efficacy of test strips that detect the potent synthetic substance in street-purchased drugs by handing kits out at mobile syringe and needle exchanges.

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U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams made a plea in April for more Americans to be prepared to administer naloxone, an opioid antidote, in case they or people close to them suffer an overdose.

We wondered how many people know about naloxone and the fact that someone doesn't have to be a medical professional to administer it. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they were aware of the antidote and that it could be given by laypeople; 41 percent said they weren't.

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On August 17, Dr. Leana Wen visited Catholic Charities' Weinberg Housing and Resource Center and gave staff and clients a naloxone training.

In his article, Congressman Elijah Cummings covers the escalating opioid crisis, the importance of listening to those on the front lines who knows what works, and why the CARE Act would change the way the United States is fighting this health emergency.

"Confronted with this urgent threat to our health and safety, we all should be listening carefully to the advice of Baltimore City’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen."

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The Opioid Crisis continues to persist as drug overdose numbers continue to rise, particularly in Baltimore City.  Brett talks  to Dr. Leana Wen, an expert on public health, for more on these numbers, and how to potentially curtail them in the future.

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"It's terrifying that we're at a point where the numbers escalate every year. We don't even know where the peak is," said Baltimore's health commissioner.

Maryland hit a sobering new milestone last year: The state saw more fentanyl deaths than ever before. And this year, it turns out, is already on track to set another disquieting record. 

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That stat surfaced during a roundtable discussion and C-SPAN live broadcast with congressional officials, Baltimore leaders and community members at our downtown clinic on Friday, July 27. 

We were honored to welcome Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman John Sarbanes, Mayor Catherine Pugh, Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen and many others to tour our facility and discuss the state of our nation’s opioid epidemic. 

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More than 2,200 Maryland residents died in 2017 from unintended drug and alcohol-related intoxication, setting an all-time mark for the state in the seventh consecutive year.

“We are seeing an epidemic of overdoses in Maryland and around the country and these numbers are terrifying,” said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen in response to the report. “We are not even at the peak of the epidemic and we don’t know what the peak looks like.”

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