WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers are praising the Food and Drug Administration's decision requiring generic versions of OxyContin to be tamper-resistant. The move means generic versions of the popular painkiller, which is often used by drug addicts, will be based on formulations that make it harder to crush. Addicts often crush the pills to be able to
inject them.
"On behalf of the thousands of families in my region and all over this country, keep crushable pills off our streets and out of our children's hands," Rogers said on the House floor Tuesday.
The FDA decision effectively protects manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP from lower-price competition by requiring generic manufacturers to develop their own abuse-deterrent designs.
The original patent was set to expire Tuesday.