Makers of OxyContin Aiming to Prevent Abuse of Drug
Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the narcotic painkiller OxyContin, is taking steps to help prevent abuse of the drug, and the FDA announced that the changes do offer some limited advantages over the original pill.
When OxyContin was introduced in 1997, it was hailed as a “miracle” drug for patients who were seriously ill or suffering from chronic pain. However, the effectiveness of the drug also makes it highly addictive and easily abused.
The drug is effective when used properly by severely ill patients dealing with intense pain. It was designed to give patients a steady does of the painkiller over a 12-hour period. But drug abusers quickly realized that they could get quicker effects by crushing and snorting or even injecting the drug. Since OxyContin is an opiate, its effects are similar to those of heroin, garnering the nickname “Hillbilly Heroin.”
Purdue Pharma's new changes are aimed at preventing this sort of abuse. The company changed the pills to include a plastic-like coating, which should prevent users from crushing the tablets, or at least make it more difficult to do so. Purdue Pharma had originally intended to use the plastic coating just on its lower-dosage pills, but now it aims to include the tamper-proofing on all doses of the painkiller.
However, there is still the problem of people being legitimately prescribed the drug and then becoming dependent on it over time. Purdue’s changes to the drug can’t prevent this kind of addiction, so that responsibility lies with the prescribing doctors, who need to better monitor their patients and educate them on the addictive properties of the drug.
A study conducted in 2007 showed that around 5.2 million Americans reported using prescription painkillers in an inappropriate manner. The majority of these people didn’t start buying pills off the street, but instead were given a prescription by a doctor or experimented with someone else’s prescription.