Illinois Company Recalls Overdose Antidote Device

Ohio’s addictions agency has issued an awareness alert after a company recalled a device used to deliver the drug overdose antidote naloxone.

The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services said the recall by Gurnee, Illinois-based Teleflex Medical does not involve the drug itself, which is used frequently to revive overdose victims.

The state says faulty nasal atomizers shoot a stream of the drug into patients’ noses rather than producing a mist, which could make the drug less effective.

State officials have pushed to expand access to the reversal drug to curb increasing overdoses and deaths attributed to heroin and stronger drugs, such as fentanyl.

A law signed last year lets pharmacies distribute naloxone to at-risk opioid users or their relatives or friends without a prescription.