The Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer's new opioid painkiller Friday that contains abuse-deterrent features.
Troxyca extended-release tablets are intended to treat patients that require daily, long-term opioid treatment to manage severe pain.
The tablets contain pellets of oxycodone hydrochloride, an opioid agonist, that surround naltrexone hydrochloride, an opioid antagonist.
When the pill is taken whole, the naltrexone remains sequestered and patients receive an extended-release dose of oxycodone. However, if the pill is crushed, the pellets release naltrexone, which counteracts the effects of the oxycodone.
Pfizer warns that while the drug is intended to reduce inappropriate use of the drug, opioid abuse is still possible.
The New York-based drugmaker did not say when the product would launch.
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