FDA's Opioid Programs: After Training, What's The Next Step?

Treatment guidelines may also appear in opioid labeling, and insurers seem to be taking the agency's advice, but will it be enough to satisfy Congress?

FDA entrance sign 2016

When US FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb testifies at an Oct. 5 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal response to the opioid crisis, he'll be able to point to a number of new agency initiatives aimed at reducing death and addiction from misuse of the products. A question that will be left unasked – and one that neither Gottlieb nor any other stakeholder can answer – is how long will FDA have to let these programs work before more drastic action is demanded?

Last week, FDA announced that it was expanding the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) that have covered extended-release and long-acting opioids to immediate-release (IR) products as well. Now training...

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