Canada OKs generic form of oxycodone

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This article was published 28/11/2013 (4333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Health Canada recently approved a generic, addictive form of oxycodone just as U.S. officials were urging their Canadian counterparts to ban such formulations of the powerful painkiller.

The green light to Ranbaxy, India’s biggest drug maker, came soon after Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, reminded Canadian Health Minister Rona Ambrose of the dangers posed by generic forms of the opioid.

The U.S. has banned generic oxycodone because it’s too easy for addicts to snort or inject, and only tamper-resistant forms of the drug can be sold stateside. American officials say the U.S. is dealing with a painkiller-abuse epidemic that is killing tens of thousands of people a year.

The U.S. has been pressing Canada to outlaw generic oxycodone, citing studies that show the more addictive formulations are migrating south of the border.

Both countries are making progress in cracking down on addictive formulations of oxycodone, Kerlikowske wrote to Ambrose on Nov. 8, but “more can be done to prevent the misuse and diversion of generic oxycodone products, which remain available in Canadian markets in crushable forms.”

He added: “We believe it is in the best interest of Canada and the United States to co-ordinate efforts around these issues, and we are eager to help facilitate ongoing dialogue with Canadian leadership and officials in the FDA and other U.S. agencies.”

Neither Kerlikowske’s office nor a spokesman for the health minister would say whether Ambrose replied to the letter.

But a spokesman for Kerlikowske, U.S. President Barack Obama’s nominee to helm the powerful Customs and Border Protection Agency, said the U.S. and Canada have enjoyed a “productive” relationship on the issue that will hopefully continue under the new health minister.

Ambrose hinted last month she was looking into the issue of tamper-resistance and signalled the government would expand its national anti-drug strategy to encompass prescription drug abuse.

“Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem that we are working with provinces and territories to address,” Ambrose said in a statement Wednesday, adding the Conservatives are also attempting to tighten licensing rules that would help prevent the trafficking of addictive prescription drugs.

She didn’t comment on why Health Canada bureaucrats are continuing to approve generic, addictive forms of oxycodone.

Health Canada, meantime, defended itself, saying it “rigorously” assesses every drug’s safety and efficacy before approving it.

“These decisions are made by experts in the department based on science; the minister is not consulted on day-to-day drug approvals,” said spokeswoman Leslie Meerburg.

Meerburg added Health Canada is working to help companies develop tamper-resistant opioid formulations that might help reduce the risk of abuse.

Benedikt Fischer, a public health and addiction expert at B.C.’s Simon Fraser University, said the Health Canada decision makes no sense given the government is signalling its intention to crack down on generic oxycodone.

“We have policy measures where one side goes forward and the other side goes backward. It’s completely weird — there’s no consistent approach or strategy; it’s a complete mess.”

— The Canadian Press