FDA Reverses Stance on Removal of Morphine Painkiller

[Why Syzygy]

I read a criticism of this action on naturalnews.com. I have to take sides with the hospice workers on this one.

04.08.09, 08:00 PM EDT
Appeals from hospice experts mean an unapproved drug, one of 14 given recent warning, will remain on the market, agency says

THURSDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- Bowing to the pleas of hospice experts, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has backed off its intent to remove from the market an unapproved liquid morphine painkiller given to dying patients.

Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, told the Associated Press Thursday that the morphine liquid will remain on the market until replaced by an approved version or some other equivalent therapy.

The reversal follows a March 31 FDA warning to nine companies to stop making 14 unapproved prescription narcotic painkillers.

The liquid morphine was one of those painkillers, and is highly concentrated. Throckmorton said health officials had thought that other, more diluted forms of morphine could replace the concentrated one.

But, he told AP, reaction from hospice experts and others "helped us understand" that some patients need the unapproved version.

Dr. Porter Storey, executive vice president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, called the FDA action "a really important step in the right direction." He added that it showed "an amazing level of responsiveness we're not used to seeing in our government officials," according to AP. (...)

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/04/09/hscout625971.html

[JeanGrey]

1. Gee, what are they afraid of? That a dying patient might

"die" relatively pain free? What utter nonsense.

[Why Syzygy]

4. Sadly,

the natrualnews site didn't mention the hospice connection.

This is a newly discovered site for me, and is still in the evaluation stage.

[NOW tense]

2. Were they getting rid of it for being cheap? OR

Was it to curb the opium trade?

[Why Syzygy]

3. It's "unapproved". nt

[NOW tense]

5. My reading skills

are not good.

:blush:

[Why Syzygy]

6. Happens to all of us.

So much to read, so little time :D

[NOW tense]

7. This happens to me when

I have posted too much. It tells me to take a break.

[Warpy]

8. Damned right the dying need the concentrate

Diluted forms will just dribble out of the corners of their mouths. The concentrated form can be put under the tongue or next to the cheek and enough of it will stay there to provide adequate relief.

The FDA was dead wrong to withdraw it.

However, I'm glad now that the bible bangers are gone, their ears seem to have unclogged and they listened to reason.