FDA approves new hydrocodone product that’s hard to abuse

By | February 2, 2015

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an extended-release hydrocodone product with properties that can reduce abuse of the drug, according to ADA News.

Hysingla ER (hydrocodone bitartrate) is an opioid analgesic that can treat pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock-long-term use. The tablet is difficult to crush, break or dissolve and it also forms a thick gel and cannot be easily prepared for injection. Because of those characteristics, the FDA has determined it would be difficult to abuse the drug.

“While the science of abuse deterrence is still evolving, the development of opioids that are harder to abuse is helpful in addressing the public health crisis of prescription drug abuse in the U.S.,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Preventing prescription opioid abuse is a top public health priority for the FDA and encouraging the development of opioids with abuse-deterrent properties is just one component of a broader approach to reducing abuse and misuse and will better enable the agency to balance addressing this problem with ensuring that patients have access to appropriate treatments for pain.”

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Have you used hydrocodone products in your practice?

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