FDA Unveils New Steps to Address the Opioid Crisis
Biospace.com | February 27, 2019
As the opioid crisis continues in the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has drafted new plans that will allow it to address past mistakes and “get ahead” of the situation that claims the lives of over 100 Americans per day. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency has learned from past mistakes it, as well as other agencies made in order to stem the opioid crisis. In a statement issued Tuesday, Gottlieb said the FDA intends to “make sure that we’re acting forcefully enough to address new threats that could extend this crisis.” Gottlieb said the agency has changed its approach to the opioid crisis and will take a more aggressive approach on regulatory actions. “At the FDA, we’ve committed to taking more rapid action in the face of new threats, like the growing prevalence of illicit fentanyl that’s contributing to overdose deaths, or the continued prevalence of prescriptions being written for durations of use that are too long for the clinical circumstances for which they’re intended. We’ve changed the way we’re tackling these issues and stepped up our intervention when it comes to opioids, Gottlieb said.