For decades, people suffering life-threatening allergic reactions had to quickly and correctly give themselves an injection using an EpiPen. That changed in August, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved neffy, a nasal spray that treats severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis—making it the first needle-free option for those over age 4.
“People are terrified of the injectors, and that leads to poor treatment because they won’t inject themselves at the right time, if at all,” says Richard Lowenthal, a biochemist who’s the CEO and president of ARS Pharmaceuticals, the company that makes neffy. The nasal spray is small enough to carry in a shirt pocket. “It’s not threatening, and it doesn’t cause significant pain,” Lowenthal says. “You're spraying medicine in your nose, but it's not irritating, and it's very quick to do—you just put it in and push the plunger, and it's done.”
In January, ARS Pharmaceuticals launched its neffyinSchools program, which provides free single-use doses of the drug to eligible K-12 schools in the U.S. Lowenthal was motivated by the fact that up to 25% of kids have their first allergic reaction at school. “Nurses are thrilled about neffy,” he says, “and we’re very happy that we can step in and give an option.”