Zohydro: Why this new painkiller could spark another addiction epidemic

A new, highly potent painkiller is out on the market – and many health experts want it gone.

The controversial drug is Zohydro, an extended-release painkiller containing the already widely used opioid, hydrocodone. Designed to release painkilling medication into the body slowly over a 12-hour period, Zohydro is available in doses as high as 50 milligrams – five times the amount found in similar immediate-release hydrocodone pills.

According to Zohydro’s manufacturer Zogenix Inc., the drug’s hallmark is its simplicity. Zohydro is the first painkiller to contain only hydrocodone, while other comparable drugs, such as Vicodin and Lortab, contain hydrocodone plus acetaminophen. The company claims that acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, and 63 percent of these cases are caused by hydrocodone-acetaminophen combination drugs. Zohydro is meant to provide pain relief without this threat of liver toxicity.

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