New painkiller, with fewer side-effects, up for FDA approval

The drug, Moxduo, allows patients to take lower doses of other painkillers. Elsewhere, a Food and Drug Administration official talks about another painkiller, Zohydro.

NPR: Powerful Narcotic Painkiller Up For FDA Approval
The Food and Drug Administration is trying to decide whether to approve a powerful new prescription painkiller that's designed to relieve severe pain quickly, and with fewer side effects than other opioids. While some pain experts say the medicine could provide a valuable alternative for some patients in intense pain, the drug (called Moxduo) is also prompting concern that it could exacerbate the epidemic of abuse of prescription painkillers and overdoses. An FDA advisory committee is holding a daylong hearing Tuesday to decide whether to recommend that the agency approve the drug (Stein, 4/22).

CQ Healthbeat: FDA Official Urges Reassessment Of Painkiller Use
While defending the approval of the controversial painkiller Zohydro, the top U.S. drug regulator is calling for a reversal of the trends that have triggered excess use of narcotics in the United States and unleashed an epidemic of prescription drug abuse (Young, 4/22).