FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 17, 2013) — Attorney General Jack Conway on Monday joined 42 state and territorial attorneys general in sending a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging it to require manufacturers of generic prescription pain relievers to develop tamper-resistant versions of their products. Conway co-sponsored the letter with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.
“Prescription drug abuse is destroying families across the commonwealth,” Conway said. “Requiring abuse-deterrent formulations for generic opioids is a common sense improvement that provides us another important tool to help fight this epidemic.”
In their letter, the bipartisan coalition of attorneys general thanked the FDA for their recent efforts to require abuse-deterrent formulations for branded opioid drugs. However, they also urged the FDA to go even further by ensuring that generic opioids, like their branded counterparts, have abuse-deterrent properties.
“Accordingly, the undersigned State Attorneys General respectfully request that the FDA provide clear and fair regulatory standards for the incorporation of abuse-deterrent technologies into generic opioids,” the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) letter reads.
Conway and Bondi co-chair the NAAG Substance Abuse Committee.
Attorneys general across the country remain in the national forefront combating prescription abuse by sponsoring prescription drug-take back efforts, spearheading legislative and law enforcement initiatives in their respective jurisdictions, and mandating state level prescription drug monitoring programs.
A copy of the letter sent to the FDA is available here: http://goo.gl/ZKgIAb.
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