FDA awards contract for opioid prescribing guidelines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded a contract to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to develop evidence-based, indication-specific guidelines for appropriate prescribing of opioid analgesics.

Too many prescriptions for opioids are being written, and many of these prescriptions are for a longer duration than necessary, noted FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, in a statement. It is the goal of the FDA to work with stakeholders to support the development of more rational prescribing practices, he added.