FDA top officials call for sweeping review of agency opioids policies

In response to the opioid abuse epidemic in the USA, yesterday Robert Califf, the US Food and Drug Administration’s Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco, along with other FDA leaders, called for a far-reaching action plan to reassess the agency’s approach to opioid medications. The plan will focus on policies aimed at reversing the epidemic, while still providing patients in pain access to effective relief.

Separately, President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for $1.1 billion in his next budget to take on the epidemic in the USA, where 28,648 deaths were linked to opioid drugs in 2014.

The FDA will: