Highlights From AP Interview With FDA's Hamburg

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE

Hamburg downplayed suggestions that the agency might remove a heavily criticized painkiller from the market if a harder-to-abuse version becomes available. She said better abuse-deterrent formulas are needed to prevent abusers from chewing, snorting or injecting pain relievers to get high.

"We feel very strongly that the current technologies available are not adequate to truly turn the tide on the epidemic of abuse, and we need continuing advancement in the field of abuse-deterrent technology," Hamburg said.

The FDA has faced months of criticism from elected officials, law enforcement and anti-addiction groups for approving the powerful painkiller Zohydro last October. The long-acting opioid is the first U.S.-approved pure form of hydrocodone, the most abused prescription drug ingredient in the country. Previously it was only available in lower-dose combination pills like Vicodin.

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