FDA Approves New Abuse-Deterrent Opioid Pain Medication

FDA has approved Targiniq™ ER, an opioid pain reliever designed to be more resistant to abuse. The drug is an extended-release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesic for treating pain severe enough to require around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment, and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. Targiniq ER is the first to combine naloxone hydrochloride, an overdose reversal drug, and oxycodone, an opioid pain reliever. The naloxone blocks the euphoric effects of oxycodone if the drug is crushed and snorted, or crushed, dissolved, and injected, indicates an FDA press release. The medication could still be abused when taken orally, and taking too much of the drug could still result in an overdose, FDA notes. Targiniq ER is part of FDA’s ER/LA Opioid Analgesics Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which requires companies to provide to health care providers educational programs on safely prescribing ER/LA opioid analgesics, medication guides, and patient counseling documents containing information on the safe use, storage, and disposal of ER/LA opioids.