Addiction Specialists Wary Of New FDA-Approved Painkiller

Circle Connections: Policy & Regulatory Updates Addiction experts protested loudly when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a powerful new opioid painkiller last month, saying that it would set off a wave of abuse much as OxyContin did when it first appeared. An FDA panel had earlier voted, 11 to 2, against approval of the drug, Zohydro, in part because unlike current versions of OxyContin, it is not made in a formulation designed to deter abuse. Now a new issue is being raised about Zohydro. The drug will be manufactured by the same company, Alkermes, that makes a popular . . .