Drug Warning: Why Everyone Is Afraid of New Painkiller Zohydro

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Zohydro, a new prescription painkiller being made by Zogenix (ZGNX) and Alkermes (ALKS), has almost everyone on edge.

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Zohydro is a highly addictive narcotic that is set to release in March, and it’s the first single-ingredient hydrocodone drug to ever receive Food and Drug Administration approval. (Normally, drugs that contain hydrocodone also contain acetaminophen.)

Zohydro’s FDA approval was even more surprising considering that an advisory panel voted 11-to-2 against the drug before the main FDA vote.

Zohydro essentially is a higher-hydrocodone-dose version of Vicodin, itself an addictive and powerful drug. One public health group claims Zohydro is “so powerful that a single dose could kill a child,” reports Examiner.com.

“You can crush it and then you can snort it, dissolve it and inject it, or swallow crushed powder and then it’s no longer slow release, long-acting form and you get a quick high from that,” Dr. Michael Carome, Director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, told NBC News.

“For someone who is not used to taking opioids, it could be fatal.”

ALKS shares were down more than 1% as of midday Friday, while ZGNX was fractionally higher.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2014/02/new-painkille-zohydro-zgnx-stock-alks-stock/.

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