University Researchers: OxyContin Reformulation Led to Drop in Prescriptions

Independent researchers have concluded a reformulation of the popular opioid painkiller OxyContin in 2010 intended to discourage abuse resulted in both a decrease in overdoses as well as a drop in prescriptions. The study, which researchers from Harvard University and Boston Medical Center published Monday on the website of the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Internal Medicine sub-journal, examined more than 31 million patients through an unidentified U.S. health insurance carrier. A study that representatives of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma presented at the annua...