New OxyContin-Like Pill Would Stop Abusers

R O A N O K E, Va., Aug. 8, 2001 -- The maker of OxyContin, a prescriptionpainkiller linked to a growing number of overdoses and deaths, saidtoday that it has come up with blueprints for a "smart pill"that would be tougher to abuse.

The new painkiller, which has yet to be named and would not beavailable for at least three years, would destroy its own narcoticingredients if crushed into a powder and snorted or injected — thetypical manner in which OxyContin currently is abused.

Not the Good Stuff

"Addicts and abusers are going to find this very undesirable,"said Dr. J. David Haddox, senior medical director for Purdue PharmaLP of Stamford, Conn. "Before long they're going to say, 'Don'tmess with that stuff; that's no good."'

Purdue spokesman Jim Heins said the drug could become analternative to their top-selling painkiller in areas like ruralAppalachia where prescription drug abuse is especially high.

OxyContin is a slow-release narcotic painkiller that is widelyprescribed for victims of moderate to severe chronic pain resultingfrom such problems as arthritis, back trouble and cancer. One pillis designed to last 12 hours, but abusers usually crush themedicine and then snort or inject it, producing a quick,heroin-like high.

The drug has been blamed for contributing to more than 100deaths nationwide. Purdue, which has become the target of at least13 OxyContin-related lawsuits in five states, says those estimatesare unreliable and that in the vast majority of those cases, thevictims were abusing other drugs at the same time.

Beads Would Block Narcotic Effect

Like OxyContin, which was introduced in December 1995, the newdrug would be for victims of moderate to severe chronic pain.

However, it would be embedded with microscopic "beads" ofnaltrexone, a narcotic antagonist that counteracts the medicine.

The beads would be coated with a chemical to keep them fromdissolving, so the pain medication will work just like OxyContin iftaken as directed.

But if the pill is crushed or chopped up, the coating on thebeads would break, releasing the naltrexone and canceling thedrug's effects, Haddox said.

Three Years Off

Purdue is still conducting tests on the new drug, which could beready in three years. Officials have not decided yet whether tomake oxycodone the active ingredient, or to include a differentnarcotic altogether, like morphine.

If the Food and Drug Administration approves the drug, it wouldbe one of only a few abuse-resistant drugs on the market. The firstsmart pill, a painkiller called Talwin NX, uses an antagonistcalled naloxone to achieve similar effects.

Richard S. Weiner, executive director of the American Academy ofPain Management in Sonora, Calif., applauded the new formula.

"Hopefully, this will assuage law enforcement that …painkillers can be safe," Weiner said.

Purdue has been criticized for not reformulating OxyContin to belike Talwin. Company officials decided against doing so, Haddoxsaid, because they were concerned that naloxone might create a"ceiling" effect in OxyContin. Such a drug would not increase inpotency past a certain point, even if a patient takes higher andhigher doses.

"We think this is a much more elegant solution to theproblem," Haddox said.

Purdue officials said the timing of the patent has nothing to dowith lawsuits from people claiming they're addicted to OxyContinand others who want to hold the company responsible for illicitabuse of the drug.

This week, Purdue said it expects an international patentapplication will be published on their "sequestered naltrexone"technology, an initial step that expedites the formula protectionprocess in some countries. Heins said the company also will seekindividual patents in the United States, Japan, Europe and othermajor markets.