A long-awaited review of prescription opioid medications, including their risks and contribution to the U.S. overdose epidemic, is still underway at the Food and Drug Administration, the agency’s commissioner said Tuesday.
Dr. Robert Califf wrote in a blog entry that the FDA is still studying “what revisions are needed to support appropriate use” of opioid painkillers and “lessons learned” by the agency. The update comes as part of a broader outline of the FDA’s ideas and initiatives for combating drug misuse and addiction.
Califf told The Associated Press that the sheer scale of the epidemic makes potential remedies a challenge.
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