Tennessee’s health officials and attorney general are worried about a powerful new pain medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper was one of 28 attorneys general who asked the FDA to reconsider approving Zohydro. The Tennessean newspaper reports the drug is an extended-release form of hydrocodone in capsule form.
The state health department says there are already sufficient varieties of opioids. Health officials also say the drug has a lack of safeguards to keep Zohydro from being crushed and snorted or injected.
The FDA reports that drugmaker Zogenix, Inc., is developing another abuse-deterrent form of the drug.
Tennessee ranks second in the US for per-capita opioid use. This week, Governor Bill Haslam and other state officials are expected to announce a plan to deal with the state’s pill epidemic.
