Oxycodone News and Research

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Opioids could be dangerous, deadly at high doses

Most people know that heroin is a dangerous drug, but its cousins, the legal, pharmaceutical opioids, such as codeine or hydrocodone, must be safe, right?Not so fast.Opioids—which include the illegal drug heroin as well as prescription medications, including hydrocodone (such as Vicodin), oxycodone (such as OxyContin and Percocet), morphine and codeine—can be dangerous, even deadly, at high doses.

31 Mar 2016

FDA announces required class-wide safety labeling changes for IR opioid pain medications

In a continuing effort to educate prescribers and patients about the potential risks related to opioid use, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced required class-wide safety labeling changes for immediate-release (IR) opioid pain medications. Among the changes, the FDA is requiring a new boxed warning about the serious risks of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death.

23 Mar 2016

Changes in substance use policies can significantly impact life expectancy

While average life expectancy has been rising steadily in most countries over the past century, new research led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health shows that life expectancy declined significantly and rapidly in three countries where policy changes increased access to prescription opioids, alcohol or illicit drugs.

23 Mar 2016

New reference guide can help HIV care providers treat chronic pain

Recent studies suggest many individuals with HIV have chronic pain. Estimates range from 39 percent all the way to 85 percent. Chronic pain is an important comorbid condition in individuals with HIV, as it is common and causes substantial disability.

22 Mar 2016

New vaccine strategy may curb addiction, prevent fatal overdoses

With use of synthetic opioid "designer drugs" on the rise, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have a new strategy to curb addiction and even prevent fatal overdoses.

17 Feb 2016

Long-term use of opioids increases risk of new-onset depression

Opioids may cause short-term improvement in mood, but long-term use imposes risk of new-onset depression, a Saint Louis University study shows.

13 Jan 2016

DURECT reports successful completion of DUR-928 Phase 1 study for acute use indications

DURECT Corporation today announced the successful completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial with an injectable formulation of DUR-928 intended for acute use indications. DUR-928 is an endogenous, small-molecule, new chemical entity (NCE), which may have broad applicability in metabolic diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and in acute organ injuries such as acute kidney injury (AKI).

6 Jan 2016

Crackdown on Florida's 'pill mills' reduces painkiller overdose deaths

A crackdown on Florida's "pill mills" - clinics dispensing large quantities of prescription painkillers often for cash-only and without proper medical examinations - appears to have dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths in the state from these drugs and may have also led to a drop in heroin overdose deaths, new research suggests.

22 Dec 2015

New data shows opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014

From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million Americans died from drug overdoses. Opioid overdose deaths, including both opioid pain relievers and heroin, hit record levels in 2014, with an alarming 14 percent increase in just one year, according to new data published today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

20 Dec 2015

Egalet submits NDA for ARYMO ER (morphine sulfate) extended-release tablets

Egalet Corporation, a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative treatments for pain and other conditions, announced the company has submitted a new drug application (NDA) for ARYMO ER (morphine sulfate) extended-release tablets for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock opioid treatment and for which alternative treatments are inadequate.

15 Dec 2015

Egalet, Teva sign agreement to commercialize SPRIX Nasal Spray in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank

Egalet Corporation, a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative treatments for pain and other conditions, today announced a collaboration agreement with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a leading global pharmaceutical company.

14 Dec 2015

TSRI researchers awarded $1.6 million grant to advance preclinical studies of potential heroin vaccine

Now researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded a prestigious Translational Avant-Garde Award, which supports the development of medications for substance abuse disorders, from the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse.

20 Nov 2015

Medical researchers use social media to study harmful side effects of narcotics medication

Harnessing the power of social media, medical researchers have sifted through more than two billion tweets and online posts to study the harmful side effects of narcotics medication taken for chronic pain.

19 Nov 2015

FDA approves Narcan nasal spray to prevent or reverse effects of opioid overdose

Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan nasal spray, the first FDA-approved nasal spray version of naloxone hydrochloride, a life-saving medication that can stop or reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Opioids are a class of drugs that include prescription medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine, as well as the illegal drug heroin.

18 Nov 2015

Prescription opioids overprescribed in some regions of British Columbia, UBC study finds

Strong painkillers known as prescription opioids appear to be overprescribed in some regions of British Columbia (B.C.), resulting in higher rates of overdose and death, according to a new study from UBC.

29 Oct 2015

Study: Pediatric patients prescribed more opioid medication than necessary following surgery

Although it is not uncommon for pediatric patients to be prescribed opioids to treat certain types of moderate to severe pain, new research suggests these patients may be prescribed more opioids than necessary following surgery. A study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2015 annual meeting found nearly 60 percent of opioids dispensed to pediatric patients following surgery remained unused, which could lead to the unused medication being abused by other adolescents in the household.

26 Oct 2015

BDSI announces FDA approval of BUNAVAIL sNDA for manufacturing specification change

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company's Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for a manufacturing specification change for BUNAVAIL (buprenorphine and naloxone) buccal film (CIII).

15 Oct 2015

FDA accepts Braeburn's resubmission of Probuphine NDA for review

Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, an Apple Tree Partners company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted Braeburn's resubmission of the Probuphine New Drug Application (NDA) for review and set February 27, 2016 as the target date for Agency action.

28 Sep 2015

Study shows half of adolescents misuse their prescription drugs

Although prescription drug misuse is on the decline among adolescents, one in two patients tested between the ages of 10 and 17 years are not using their medications appropriately, potentially putting their health at risk, according to an analysis by Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services.

From Quest Diagnostics 11 Sep 2015

BioDelivery Sciences and Endo present Phase 2 data on buprenorphine HCl buccal film in patients with chronic pain

Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Endo International plc, and BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. today presented data from a Phase 2 study for the investigational drug buprenorphine HCl buccal film utilizing BDSI’s patented BioErodible MucoAdhesive (BEMA) drug delivery technology.

11 Sep 2015