Emergent BioSolutions Partners with British Columbia to Supply NARCAN® Nasal Spray for the Launch of the Expanded BC Take Home Naloxone Program
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) announced that it has partnered with the B.C. Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) to supply NARCAN® Nasal Spray for the province's Take-Home Naloxone Program (BC THN Program). This order follows an additional investment of $18 million CAD by the B.C. government to expand the BC THN Program to include nasal naloxone. This is an expansion of B.C.'s nasal naloxone pilot program, which launched in 2024, and provided 60,000 nasal naloxone kits to community sites, pharmacies, post-secondary institutions, First-Nations-mandated institutions, fire departments, municipalities and libraries.
"We applaud the B.C. Ministry of Health for their efforts to make nasal naloxone available to communities across B.C. and empower more people to be ready to save a life in the event of an opioid poisoning," said Paul Williams, senior vice president, head of products business, global government and public affairs at Emergent. "We are proud to deliver products to help protect and save lives through our footprint in Canada with over 300 employees across Emergent's Winnipeg, Manitoba manufacturing facility and offices in Mississauga, Ontario."
Emergent has longstanding partnerships with the Government of Canada and several provincial and territorial governments to deliver products that protect against public health threats. Since 2016, Emergent has delivered more than 100 million doses of NARCAN® Nasal Spray to people, communities and businesses across Canada and the U.S. to help save lives from opioid poisonings. NARCAN® Nasal Spray is designed to reverse the effects of an opioid poisoning within minutes and is part of Emergent's opioid response program to equip the government, community organizations, pharmacies, workplaces and care providers with a suite of tools to help manage the crisis.
"This initial order is an important milestone in our commitment to increasing access and awareness of NARCAN® Nasal Spray to help address the opioid poisoning crisis across Canada," said Danielle Portnik, country manager and head of business Canada at Emergent. "We are partnering closely with the BCCDC, Ministry of Health, and the Provincial and Regional Health Authorities on these efforts as NARCAN® Nasal Spray is rolled out across the province beginning this month."
NARCAN® Nasal Spray can be accessed at no cost to all residents of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon, through the provincial and territorial THN (or equivalent) programs. It is also available through Veteran Affairs Canada, First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program. NARCAN® Nasal Spray can also be ordered online at www.OrderNARCAN.ca.
Learn more about Emergent's commitment to help combat the opioid crisis in Canada via this National Impact Map.
About NARCAN® Nasal Spray
NARCAN® Nasal Spray is a pure opioid antagonist indicated for emergency use to reverse known or suspected opioid overdose, as manifested by respiratory and/or severe central nervous system depression.
While NARCAN® Nasal Spray can be administered by a non-health care professional, it is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical care. Always call 911 as soon as an opioid overdose is suspected, before administering NARCAN® Nasal Spray.
Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
About Emergent BioSolutions
At Emergent, our mission is to protect and save lives. For over 25 years, we've been at work preparing those entrusted with protecting public health. We deliver protective and life-saving solutions for health threats like smallpox, mpox, botulism, Ebola, anthrax and opioid overdose emergencies. To learn more about how we help prepare communities around the world for today's health challenges and tomorrow's threats, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the B.C. government's additional investment to expand the BC THN Program to include nasal naloxone, are forward-looking statements. We generally identify forward-looking statements by using words like "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "position," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would," and similar expressions or variations thereof, or the negative thereof, but these terms are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on our current intentions, beliefs and expectations regarding future events based on information that is currently available. We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statements will be accurate. Readers should realize that if underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or if known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could differ materially from our expectations. Readers are, therefore, cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, and, except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect new information, events or circumstances.
There are a number of important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated by any forward-looking statements. Readers should consider this cautionary statement, as well as the risk factors and other disclosures included in our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, when evaluating our forward-looking statements.
Investor Contact:
Richard S. Lindahl
Executive Vice President, CFO
lindahlr@ebsi.com
Media Contact:
Assal Hellmer
Vice President, Communications
mediarelations@ebsi.com
1Province of British Columbia. (2025) Statistical reports on deaths in British Columbia. Available at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/life-events/death/coroners-service/statistical-reports (Accessed: 23 February 2026).
2BC Pharmacy Association (2019) Review of naloxone delivery devices for bystander intervention. The Tablet, 15 October [online]. Available at: https://www.bcpharmacy.ca/tablet/fall-19/nasal-naloxone-delivery. (Accessed: 20 February 2026).
