Oxymorphone Hydrochloride

Oxymorphone, sold under the brand names Numorphan among others, is a powerful semi-synthetic opioid analgesic (painkiller). Pain relief after injection begins after about 5–10 minutes and 15–30 minutes after rectal administration, and lasts about 3–4 hours for immediate-release tablets and 12 hours for extended-release tablets. Oxymorphone, sold under the brand names Numorphan among others, is a powerful semi-synthetic opioid analgesic (painkiller). Pain relief after injection begins after about 5–10 minutes and 15–30 minutes after rectal administration, and lasts about 3–4 hours for immediate-release tablets and 12 hours for extended-release tablets. It was developed in Germany in 1914. It was patented in 1955 and approved for medical use in 1959. It is highly addictive and in June 2017 the FDA asked the manufacturer to remove its product from the US market. This was in part due to the opioid epidemic in the US, and the fact that the 2012 reformulation led to a shift in the route of abuse from nasal to injection. In response, by July 2017, Endo International voluntarily removed Opana ER from the market. Generic versions of extended release oxymorphone are still available for prescription use in the US. Oxymorphone is indicated for the relief of moderate to severe pain, such as treatment of acute post surgical pain. For any chronic treatment of pain, clinicians should only consider long term use if there is significant clinical benefits to the patient's therapy that outweigh the risks. The first line treatment choices for chronic pain are non-pharmacological and non-opioid agents. Oxymorphone extended-release tablets are indicated for the management of chronic pain and only for people already on a regular schedule of strong opioids for a prolonged period. Immediate-release oxymorphone tablets are recommended for breakthrough pain for people on the extended-release version. Compared to other opioids, oxymorphone has similar pain relieving efficacy. In the United States it is a Schedule II controlled substance with an ACSCN of 9652. Oxymorphone is marketed by a single brand name manufacturer, Endo Pharmaceuticals, under the brand name(s) Opana and Opana ER. Opana ER was withdrawn by the manufacturer in 2017, making it no longer available. However both IR (immediate release) and ER (extended release) options are available under the generic name Oxymorphone and Oxymorphone ER, provided by a multitude of different brands. Oxymorphone is also available as an injectable for inpatient use, available for IV (intravenous), IM (intramuscular), and subcutaneous injection. IR and ER represent modified-release dosage forms, which change how fast the medication is available to be absorbed once ingested.