Kaleo donates EVZIO to local law enforcement agencies

Richmond-based Kaleo has announced a program that allows local law enforcement agencies to receive medicine to treat emergency opioid overdoses for free. 

The pharmaceutical company says the Henrico County Sheriff's Office is the first law enforcement agency to receive the donation of EVZIO, a handheld auto-injector used for the emergency treatment of opioid overdoses.

Opioids include pain medicine like hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin), oxycodone (e.g.,OxyContin, Percocet), morphine and heroin. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website, 72 percent of the 22,114 deaths related to pharmaceutical overdoses in 2012 involved opioid pain relievers.

EVZIO delivers naloxone, a drug usually administered with a syringe to counterattack an overdose. The product uses voice and visual cues to assist users through the injection process.
Kaleo will take applications to receive the product donation on a rolling submission basis for a limited time. A maximum of 200 EVZIO naloxone auto-injectors will be provided to each local law enforcement agency.

EVZIO, which is available by prescription, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on April 3.