Massachusetts governor defies FDA, bans deadly new painkiller

Last month, I told you about the deadly painkiller Zohydro, which had just been given the green light by the FDA.

Its approval came as a real shocker. Over 40 health-care experts begged FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to cancel it. A number of state attorneys general did, too.

So far, those requests have gone nowhere. But another official has moved to halt Zohydro’s progress.

Calling it a “significant risk” to the public, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has ordered a ban on the drug in his state. Patrick said he would “immediately prohibit the prescribing and dispensing” of it until “adequate measures are in place to safeguard” against overdose and misuse.

The ban was part of an emergency declared by Patrick over the abuse of painkillers.

Whether it holds up is another question. So is whether it would apply to the state’s five VA hospitals.

The VA’s “skyrocketing” use of narcotic painkillers was the subject of a recent hearing in Congress. And a recent study found VA patients dying from Rx overdoses at twice the national average.

But if the Bay State can keep this high-risk drug at bay, maybe others will have the nerve to follow.

And that could give “banned in Boston” a whole new meaning.

Sources:

“Massachusetts bans Zogenix’s controversial new painkiller Zohydro” Tracy Staton, March 31, 2014, FiercePharma, fiercepharma.com