FDA actions

FDA actions

The FDA has approved a new formulation of oxycodone (OxyContin^®) that is designed to discourage chewing, crushing, or dissolving the drug. The FDA admits, however, that although the new formulation reduces the risk of snorting or injecting the drug, it can still be abused by simply ingesting larger doses than recommended. Vocal critics have called for oxycodone's withdrawal from the market due to an explosion in abuse of the drug nationwide and calls this new formulation "too little too late."

The FDA has recommended resuming use of Rotarix^® rotavirus vaccine and to continue using RotaTeq^® rotavirus vaccine. Rotarix was found to have elements of the porcine circovirus 1 (PCV1) in March, which resulted in an advisory to clinicians to stop using the vaccine. Subsequently, DNA from PCV1 and PCV2 was discovered in the RotaTeq vaccine. The FDA now says that there is no evidence that PCV causes illness or infection in humans while the benefits of the vaccine are substantial.