Zohydro continues to dominate the prescription painkiller news. Zogenix, makers of Zohydro told the Associated Press that “we will be monitoring patients, prescribers, pharmacists, supply chains and abusers, so all the populations that would potentially touch our product.”
Though we applaud Zogenix for its pro-active monitoring of Zohydro’s distribution and potential misuse, the philosophy that “stronger is always better” needs to factor human nature into the assessment. In light of recent news reports and government studies regarding the ongoing rise in prescription painkiller addiction and subsequent overdoses, we adhere more to the “compassion is better” when dealing with patients.
At the Waismann Method, we believe the industry and the FDA needs to conduct more research on how to make the currently approved prescription pain medications safer and distributed with tighter controls. We have reached a point where safeguards can no longer be ignored.
