One method of addressing the abuse of opioid analgesics is to reformulate the drug to make it undesirable to someone misusing the drug.
Synonym: abuse-deterrent formulation (ADF)
Goals:
(1) make the drug undesirable to someone abusing the drug
(2) keep the drug effective for someone using the drug appropriately
The abuse behavior that is usually targeted is the crushing of a preparation with nasal insufflation, oral intake or intravenous injection of the resultant powder.
Strategy
Disadvantage(s)
add an irritant that makes certain uses unpleasant (may be released only if formulation crushed)
unintended adverse effects if the drug is misused in an alternative way; some people abusing the drug may be willing to tolerate the irritant effect
add an opioid antagonist that is only released if the preparation is crushed
may precipitate withdrawal
mechanism that interferes with drug release if the drug preparation is crushed
may interfere with drug release to patient using the drug appropriately
matrix that makes the formulation difficult to physically crush
It is difficult to make a formulation that cannot by bypassed by someone with enough knowledge and resources.
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