The shock felt after the FDA’s recent approval of the new pain medication Zohydro wasn’t limited to advocacy groups and addiction treatment specialists. Even those on the FDA advisory committee were startled by it, considering that they had voted 11-to-2 against approval of the drug.
As much as 10 times more powerful than other painkiller in its class, Zohydro is not messing around.
‘It Will Kill People As Soon As It’s Released’
Zohydro was developed by pharmaceutical giant Zogenix. One capsule of the painkiller packs enough hydrocodone to kill a child, a doctor wrote recently in the Huffington Post. If taken by an adult unaccustomed to opioids, the medication could result in death.
“It’s a whopping dose of hydrocodone packed in an easy-to-crush capsule,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, chief medical officer at Phoenix House, an addiction treatment center. “It will kill people as soon as it’s released.” Continue reading