Content about Oxycodone

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A ruling by the Food and Drug Administration means that generic versions of an opioid painkiller made by Endo Pharmaceuticals can stay on the market, drawing criticism from the drug maker.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Generic drug maker Actavis is settling a patent-infringement suit with Purdue Pharma concerning the opioid painkiller OxyContin, Actavis said Friday, saying it expected to make more than $100 million in the deal between 2014 and 2015.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration will not approve generic versions of Purdue Pharma's painkiller OxyContin based on earlier versions of the drug that did not include features to thwart abuse, the agency said Tuesday.

The FDA announced that it approved updated labeling for reformulated OxyContin (oxycodone) extended-release tablets indicating that it has physical and chemical properties designed to deter drug abusers from crushing or dissolving the pills in order to inject or snort them.

The illegal diversion of prescription medication is a growing problem in this country. Controlled substances have great potential for abuse and addiction. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recreational use of prescription drugs is on the rise; in 2010, 2 million people reported using prescription painkillers for recreational purposes for the first time that year.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — One of the most serious drug abuse problems in the country doesn't involve heroin, methamphetamine or crack, but abuse of legal prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, a problem that the Food and Drug Administration aims to change with draft guidance released Wednesday.

In the classic Arabian Nights tale “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp,” the sorcerer who sold Aladdin the lamp containing the genie attempts to get it back by walking through the town where Aladdin and his wife live disguised as a merchant, trading “new lamps 
for old.” 


Rubbing pill bottles isn’t likely to bring forth any genies ready to grant three wishes, but the idea of inputting something old and outputting something shiny and new is sort of the gist behind 
branded generics.


 WASHINGTON — Walgreens on Thursday filed a suit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration over the agency's ban on Walgreens' distribution of controlled substances from a Florida facility, according to a report published by Bloomberg late Thursday evening. 

Walgreens charged that the DEA relied "on 'outdated data' involving oxycodone to justify suspending distribution of the drugs from its Jupiter, Florida, facility. [Walgreens] asked the court to lift the suspension order," the report read. 

News broke last month that officials in the South American nation of Uruguay were planning to possibly legalize marijuana. Meanwhile, activists in Colorado have sought to legalize the drug in that state, while Chicago’s city council decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana and reduced the penalty to a ticket.


WASHINGTON — A new continuing-education program offered by a national pharmacist professional organization aims to prepare pharmacists to communicate with patients about the safe and effective use of the painkiller acetaminophen.

The American Pharmacists Association said its new CE program would allow pharmacists to outline the Food and Drug Administration's recent advisory panel meetings on the drug, communicate with patients about its appropriate use, and engage consumers in dialogue and such activities as reading labels of products containing acetaminophen.

A few weeks ago, we joined some 37,000 of our closest friends for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference. HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology and management systems for the betterment of health care.

CHADDS FORD, Pa. — Endo Pharmaceuticals announced a short-term supply constraint of analgesic products, including Opana ER, due to the temporary shutdown of a manufacturing facility operated by Novartis Consumer Health.

NEW YORK — A new law in Washington state intended to curb accidental deaths related to opioid painkillers is having some adverse side effects, according to published reports.