FDA Committees: Exalgo Effective But Open to Abuse

Although members of the Anesthetic Life Support Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management advisory committees took no votes at a joint meeting last week, they determined that the painkiller Exalgo (hydromorphone HCl) is effective in treating certain patients but poses significant potential for abuse. At the meeting, JianPing Gong, a member of CDER’s controlled substance staff, cited data that showed hydromorphone was modestly more potent than the painkillers hydrocodone or oxycodone.
Washington Drug Letter