FDA: Newer Opana Not as Abuse-Resistant as Believed

By Amy Orciari Herman

The newer version of the painkiller Opana (oxymorphone), approved in 2012 to help minimize abuse, is still susceptible to misuse and might even be more susceptible to abuse by injection than the original version, the FDA said on Friday.

Accordingly, generic versions of the original formulation can still be approved and marketed, Reuters reports.

The FDA's move comes a month after it blocked generic forms of the original OxyContin; the agency said the abuse-deterrent properties of a newer version, coupled with the original's potential for abuse, meant the original's benefits no longer outweighed its risks.