The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever nasal spray emergency treatment for opioid overdose on Wednesday. The reformulated drug, sold as Narcan, comes as a nasal spray and should help first responders, police and others deliver the antidote in emergency situations. Known generically as naloxone, it reverses the effects of opioids – drugs that include legal painkillers such as oxycodone and illegal narcotics such as heroin.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates opioid overdose led to about 23,500 deaths in the United States in 2013, a four-fold jump from 1999. A majority of these deaths occur in non-medical settings, stressing the need for user-friendly treatments that can be administered without the help of a medical practitioner, Adapt Chief Executive Seamus Mulligan told Reuters.

The treatment, Narcan, which Adapt plans to launch by January, is expected to have wide coverage under health insurance with affordable co-pays, Mulligan added. Ireland-based Adapt bought the development and commercialization rights to Narcan from London-based Lightlake Therapeutics Inc in December 2014. The company says the nasal spray is cheaper and easier to use than injections.

Group purchasers, such as law enforcement, fire fighters, departments of health, local school districts, colleges and universities, and community-based organizations will be able to purchase the spray at a discounted price of $37.50 per 4 mg device. Some first responders already convert naloxone injections into a nasal spray using nozzles and other equipment..