New Pain Rx Gets Green Light

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for severe and long-lasting (chronic) pain.

This new treatment is found under the brand name Arymo ER. It's an extended-release tablet that contains morphine sulfate.

This medication has been approved to treat pain severe enough to require taking an opioid medication (a type of painkiller) every day, around-the-clock and for long periods of time. It was also approved for those who have not found pain relief from other treatment options.

Arymo ER (morphine sulfate) was designed to make misuse and abuse difficult — even difficult for abuse by injection

Common side effects of morphine sulfate include constipation, nausea, vomiting and feeling very good (euphoria). This medication can also cause dizziness and sleepiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery while taking pain medicine like morphine sulfate until you know how it affects you.

Arymo ER carries a boxed warning regarding addiction, abuse and misuse, as well as respiratory depression and accidental ingestion. It also has a boxed warning that notes withdrawal symptoms when taken during pregnancy and risks when taken with certain medications that work on the central nervous system, such as anxiety medications.

Egalet manufactures Arymo ER, which is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2017.