FDA Should Lead Ongoing Opioid Debates, Former Agency Official Says

Former FDA Associate Commissioner for External Relations Peter Pitts said the agency has been too quiet in escalating debates about opioid regulation and has missed recent opportunities to explain the science behind its decisions. FDA should be the lead voice on the issue of abuse deterrence and safe use of opioids but instead the conversation has been dominated by state and federal lawmakers, lawyers and advocacy groups, said Pitts, now president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest...