Posted by Michael Wonder on 19 Sep 2016
FDA launches competition to spur innovative technologies to help reduce opioid overdose deaths
19 September 2016 - Contest seeks to stimulate development of a mobile app to connect those experiencing an overdose with the potentially life-saving antidote.
The U.S. FDA today announced the 2016 Naloxone App Competition, a public contest focused on developing innovative technologies to combat the rising epidemic of opioid overdose.
The FDA, with support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is inviting computer programmers, public health advocates, clinical researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators from all disciplines to create a mobile phone application that can connect opioid users experiencing an overdose with nearby carriers of the prescription drug naloxone – the antidote for an opioid overdose – thereby increasing the likelihood of timely administration and overdose reversal.
This competition builds on work announced in the FDA’s Opioids Action Plan and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Opioid Initiative (PDF - 350KB) to take concrete steps toward reducing the impact of opioid misuse, dependence and overdose on American families and communities by making naloxone more accessible.
