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from the one-should-be-more-than-enough dept.
GungnirSniper writes:
"Pharmaceutical company Zogenix has received US FDA approval to launch a new hydrocodone-based analgesic in March. The drug is intended only for chronic pain, not as an short term or as-needed analgesic. CNN is reporting a coalition of groups are lobbying for the FDA to revoke their approval before the medicine is even available.
The concerns echoed by all groups are broadly about the drug's potency and abuse potential. They say they fear that Zohydro especially at higher doses will amplify already-rising overdose numbers.
'You're talking about a drug that's somewhere in the neighborhood of five times more potent than what we're dealing with now,' said Dr. Stephen Anderson, a Washington emergency room physician who is not part of the most recent petition to the FDA about the drug. 'I'm five times more concerned, solely based on potency.'
A number of other news outlets are hyping the potency of Zohydro, going so far as calling the drug ten times more powerful than a 5mg Vicodan. A fairer comparison may be to OxyCodone, since they have similar opioid levels. Zohydro ER will be available in 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg, 40 mg, and 50 mg strengths.
Chemistry Soylents can find the structural formula for hydrocodone bitartrate on RxList.
Should the FDA allow such a potent medication on the market? Or would moving opioid analgesics to Schedule II mitigate the potential for abuse?"
(Score: 5, Informative) by pixeldyne on Friday February 28 2014, @11:46PM
Being 5 times more potent than what they're dealing with now (what is it?) makes it about the same strength as heroin and an order of magnitude weaker than fentanyl.
(Score: 4, Informative) by SacredSalt on Saturday March 01 2014, @01:24AM
It would be more accurate to say that the new formulation has versions of it which contain up to 5x as much hydrocodone as was available in standard formulations; specifically 50mg of hydrocodone in the maximum dose tablet of Zohydro versus 10mg in Norco a hycodone/APAP combination.