Healthcare

Trump administration seeks an overdose antidote to protect against a fentanyl attack

By Kimberly Leonard
Published September 20, 2018 10:11pm ET
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Trump administration seeks an overdose antidote to protect against a fentanyl attack
FILE- In this June 1, 2018 file photo, small vials of fentanyl are shown in the inpatient pharmacy at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. Nebraska state officials are preparing for their first execution in two decades on Aug. 14 at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, Neb., and their first-ever lethal injection with an untried combination of drugs. The new execution protocol calls for an initial IV dose of diazepam, commonly known as Valium, to render the inmate unconscious; the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl; cisatracurium besylate to induce paralysis and stop the inmate from breathing; and potassium chloride to stop the heart. | (Rick Bowmer/AP)

The Trump administration is developing a drug to protect against the threat of the opioid fentanyl being used in a terrorist attack.

The Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that the new drug it was working on, know as nalmefene, was intended not only to prevent the reported 40,000 deaths a year from the opioid crisis, but as a safeguard in case fentanyl is used in a terrorist attack.

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