US FDA approval for Hikma's Kloxxado

London-listed Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE: HIK) saw its share gain more than 2% to 2,415 pence by late morning, as the company, announces the approval of Kloxxado (naloxone hydrochloride) nasal spray 8mg, by the US Food and Drug Administration for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose, as manifested by respiratory and/or central nervous system depression, for adult and pediatric patients.

Kloxxado contains twice as much naloxone per spray as Emergent BioSolutions’ (NYSE: EBS), Narcan Nasal Spray 4mg in a ready-to-use nasal spray to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, providing an important new treatment option in addressing the opioid epidemic, noted Hikma, which was found in Jordan in 1978, and said it expects Kloxxado to become available in the second half of 2021.

Drug overdose, including most commonly opioid overdose, has been described as the "leading cause of accidental death" in the US today - a situation that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.