Ontario bringing in tighter controls for OxyContin replacement drug
Posted Feb 18, 2012 07:11:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – OxyContin and the drug replacing it are being removed from the list of drugs that Ontario normally funds.
The maker of OxyContin, which is up to twice as strong as morphine, will stop manufacturing the drug in Canada at the end of the month.
As of March 1, Purdue Pharma Canada will replace OxyContin with a new formulation called OxyNEO.
In a notice released today, the Ontario Health Ministry said it’s removing OxyContin from the Ontario Drug Benefit formulary as of Feb. 29.
Its replacement OxyNeo will be funded through the province’s Exceptional Access Program _ a change which means the prescription of the drug will fall under tighter controls.
The ministry says it’s taking that step in light of recent studies that suggest increased rates of opioid prescribing _ oxycodone in particular _ is contributing “significantly to opioid-related harms and death.”
