The Food and Drug Administration is having serious conversations about hydrocodone that could drastically change the future of one of medicine’s most common painkillers.
The biggest surprise came from the FDA’s approval of a new opioid called Zohydro. The drug’s main–and only– ingredient is hydrocodone, an opioid used in drugs like Vicodin to combat serious pain.
According to Zogenix, the manufacturer of Zohydro, the drug is designed for patients with pain that requires “daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.” However, the drug’s potency has raised concern among health officials who specialize in abuse prevention.
“Given that Zohydro is pure hydrocodone, it is a very powerful opioid painkiller and the potential for abusing this drug is high,” Rebecca Aronson said. Aronson is the alcohol and substance abuse prevention specialist at DePaul.
Aronson is one of many officials who find the FDA’s decision puzzling at best. The agency’s advising panel rejected the drug back in 2012, she said, and she’s dismayed by the change of heart. Moreover, she doesn’t believe the FDA did enough to make it resistant to abuse.
“The problem with Zohydro isn’t necessarily its classification…but the fact that the FDA did not require it to be more resistant to abuse,” Aronson said.