The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is putting a full court press on the opioid crisis, and unit-dose packaging looks to be part of the team.
Recently I had the honor to speak at the FDA’s public workshop, “Packaging, Storage and Disposal Options to Enhance Opioid Safety - Exploring the Path Forward.” I was part of a diverse group of stakeholders, expert panel members from the medical and pharmacy fields, pharmaceutical manufacturing, packaging providers, payers and universities, all at the table with FDA representatives to focus on what role packaging—that’s right, packaging—might play in untangling the complex web of opioid abuse, misuse, including third party access, accidental exposure and excess supply. Scott Gottlieb, M.D., FDA Commissioner, urged the group to be aggressive in developing actions to stem the tragedy going forward, including developing packaging for shorter term use and placing bumps in the road to prevent overprescribing with measurements of success. Gottleib commented, “The crisis is so immense we must consider every option available to us.”