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US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

reuters.com

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Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#11

Post by ryan-duve »

vlovich123 wrote: post #10
amluto wrote: post #9

I would love to see the way that ownership of these devices is managed. I find it rather obnoxious that every child who may need epinephrine is supposed to keep their own device at school — this means that each student needs an extra device, and most of them just sit around until expiration. If the school could buy and store a reasonable number (funded, on a fractional basis, by the insurers of the students who need…

Don’t those students still need the epipen when they’re at home or otherwise out of school?

Yes, but in addition to the one at home we also have to buy a separate one to sit in the nurse's office all year. Also, if the before/after school program doesn't have access to the nurse's office, we have yet another one that sits in their cabinet, too.

They all come home at the end of the year, expire, repeat.

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#12

Post by jessriedel »

ryan-duve wrote: post #11
vlovich123 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t those students still need the epipen when they’re at home or otherwise out of school?

Yes, but in addition to the one at home we also have to buy a separate one to sit in the nurse's office all year. Also, if the before/after school program doesn't have access to the nurse's office, we have yet another one that sits in their cabinet, too. They all come home at the end of the year, expire, repeat.

I don’t understand what the plausible alternative policy is. Each kid needs a personal one for when they are at home. They presumably should bring it with them to school for quick action and also for if they have an episode while commuting. The school could decline to carry them to save a bit of money each year, but it seems unwise to rely on (1) kids never forgetting their medication and (2) an adult always knowing where to find the child’s medication if they are unresponsive. So shouldn’t the school have a few?

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#13

Post by modeless »

I don't care about the needleless part. The autoinjectors are easy to use and you never see the needle. This is the real win:

> The shelf life of neffy is 30 months and allows for temperature exposure up to 122°F (50°C), making it a potentially effective treatment if left in a car or outside for a length of time. If accidentally frozen, neffy can be thawed and administered. [1]

The need to keep Epi-Pens below 77 degrees F (86F for short periods) is extremely constraining for something that you are supposed to carry with you at all times. Even keeping it in a jeans pocket next to your skin may not be acceptable, technically. If it's hot outside, you can't leave it in your car or even in a bag you're carrying. You're supposed to carry a thermos bottle with you the whole day every day or something? Obviously very few people do that. This is going to be far better for that reason alone. And double the shelf life is very welcome too.

[1] https://ir.ars-pharma.com/news-releases/news-release-details...

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#14

Post by ec109685 »

jessriedel wrote: post #12
ryan-duve wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but in addition to the one at home we also have to buy a separate one to sit in the nurse's office all year. Also, if the before/after school program doesn't have access to the nurse's office, we have yet another one that sits in their cabinet, too. They all come home at the end of the year, expire, repeat.

I don’t understand what the plausible alternative policy is. Each kid needs a personal one for when they are at home. They presumably should bring it with them to school for quick action and also for if they have an episode while commuting. The school could decline to carry them to save a bit of money each year, but it seems unwise to rely on (1) kids never forgetting their medication and (2) an adult always knowing…

Every school should have a supply, period. Also makes sense for kids to carry.

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#15

Post by iends »

jasinjames wrote: post #2

> ARS Pharma will offer neffy at a price of $199 for two doses via digital pharmacy sites like BlinkRx and GoodRx for eligible patients whose insurance plans do not cover neffy. Some commercially insured patients can access the treatment at $25 for each filled prescription of two single-use neffy devices through a co-pay savings program. This is considerably lower than the non-insured cost of an Epi-Pen or generic eq…

The cheapest generic is $110 without insurance at CVS for two doses.

https://www.cvs.com/content/epipen-alternative

(Sometimes you could need two doses in the event of an emergency, according to doctors.)

I know this because I've been buying them for years without use (thankfully), on the off chance my son has a life threatening reaction to eggs.

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#16

Post by koolba »

amluto wrote: post #9

I would love to see the way that ownership of these devices is managed. I find it rather obnoxious that every child who may need epinephrine is supposed to keep their own device at school — this means that each student needs an extra device, and most of them just sit around until expiration. If the school could buy and store a reasonable number (funded, on a fractional basis, by the insurers of the students who need…

> If the school could buy and store a reasonable number (funded, on a fractional basis, by the insurers of the students who need them) and use them as needed (with replacement paid for by the recipient’s insurance), the students’ lives would be simpler and a lot less money would be spent.

Except if there’s overlap in the cause of the incidents that necessitate the usage of the device. Which is very likely in the case of a food allergy driving the event.

Imagine being the principal and trying to explain, with a lot of pretty charts and statistics, why you only hand 6 devices for 12 child patients.

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#17

Post by AbstractH24 »

My first question is what took so long?

For epilepsy, rescue meds to prevent one seizure from triggering another have started coming in the form of nasal spray for at least 5 years already. Before that, outside of hospitals you either had to put a pill under someone’s tongue or cream in their butthole. You couldn’t put it under their tounge during a seizure out of risk they’d bite your finger (I’m currently recovering from a tongue bite I got after having a seizure while alone 8 days ago & it’s pretty miserable. Amazing the amount of power the teeth/jaw can have) and let’s just say the butthole option is unappealing.

My second question is should I invest in the company?

This seems like it has the potential to sell a ton. And if margins are anything like the nasal rescue med for epilepsy they are massive. The epilepsy nasal sprays are about $300 each without insurance, the same med in pill form is about 10 cents. (Yes, I’ve struggled a lot over the years with the level of privilege and inequality that having access to them reflects/perpetuates.) Their stock has tanked since going public for reasons I’ve yet to find time to research.

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#18

Post by NavinF »

modeless wrote: post #13

I don't care about the needleless part. The autoinjectors are easy to use and you never see the needle. This is the real win: > The shelf life of neffy is 30 months and allows for temperature exposure up to 122°F (50°C), making it a potentially effective treatment if left in a car or outside for a length of time. If accidentally frozen, neffy can be thawed and administered. [1] The need to keep Epi-Pens below 77 degr…

As a practical matter epi-pens work just fine outside spec. Heat just speeds up the degradation. Also see https://www.foodallergy.org/fare-blog/expired-epinephrine-ca...

> Forty EpiPen and EpiPen Jr auto-injectors that had been expired for 1 to 50 months were tested. All 40 auto-injectors contained more than 80 percent of the labeled dose

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#19

Post by NavinF »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #6
jasinjames wrote: post #2

> ARS Pharma will offer neffy at a price of $199 for two doses via digital pharmacy sites like BlinkRx and GoodRx for eligible patients whose insurance plans do not cover neffy. Some commercially insured patients can access the treatment at $25 for each filled prescription of two single-use neffy devices through a co-pay savings program. This is considerably lower than the non-insured cost of an Epi-Pen or generic eq…

Slam dunk against EpiPen’s de facto monopoly.

EpiPens have been generic for many years and most people don't buy the brand name EpiPen unless their insurance makes it free. Check CVS and goodrx

Re: US FDA approves nasal spray alternative to EpiPen for allergic reactions

#20

Post by floam »

jasinjames wrote: post #2

> ARS Pharma will offer neffy at a price of $199 for two doses via digital pharmacy sites like BlinkRx and GoodRx for eligible patients whose insurance plans do not cover neffy. Some commercially insured patients can access the treatment at $25 for each filled prescription of two single-use neffy devices through a co-pay savings program. This is considerably lower than the non-insured cost of an Epi-Pen or generic eq…

I knew someone that was… violently, ridiculously afraid of needles and to have them describe the time they had to stab a roommate with an Epi-Pen — after running outside and failing to find a Good Samaritan to do it — it was like hearing someone describe finding the courage to take a life or something, some kind of war story. He did finally do it, though. He also puked on the person.

The guy had some kind of natural aversion combined with an apparently traumatic memory from childhood of being held down and poked multiple times (probably due to their resisting) by nurses.

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