A painful day for Purdue

Purdue Pharma hoped its slow release painkiller Palladone would protect the company from the loss of revenue as generic alternatives of its blockbuster OxyContin come to market. But Palladone has potentially fatal interactions with even small amounts of alcohol, so it’s being pulled from the market.This is a major black eye for Purdue’s clinical development organization. Palladone’s active ingredient is the old drug hyrdomorphone, and Purdue’s only value added is the addition of the extended release technology, which increases convenience. FDA didn’t think that added convenience alone was enough reason to leave the drug on the market and I agree.Read Purdue Pharma is Ordered to Suspend New Painkiller in the Wall Street Journal for more information.