The FDA is taking steps to encourage drug manufacturers to pursue the creation of nonaddictive opioid alternatives for pain management, according to The Washington Post.
As part of this effort, the agency will withdraw its 2014 guidance to the drug industry on pain medications, which, in some instances, acts as a barrier to new drug products, according to FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD.
Over the next year, the FDA aims to issue numerous documents to spur pain drug development through smaller clinical trials, faster approvals and quicker drug launches.
The FDA will provide advisories to drug companies, informing them what the FDA is looking for in nonopioid medications for chronic pain. Another committee will show manufacturers how to reduce patient exposure to opioids, and a third is set to update drugmakers on the risk of illicit drug use.
FDA officials hope these new advisories will act as road maps to bring nonopioid pain medications to the market, while encouraging drug companies to focus more intently on the nonopioid pain medication field.