Opioid epidemic and the urge to discover new treatment options

The primary tools to alleviate the opioid epidemic in the USA include strict Federal and State laws on opioid prescriptions, tracking opioid medications, accountability of the opioid manufacturers and physicians, as well as boosting public awareness. Although abuse-deterrent opioids have in part lowered the incidence of opioid abuse, many post-marketing studies are still pending and some products have been recalled or terminated. Moreover, some studies show that the current deterrent opioid products might potentially force the abusers to seek more-powerful and deadly illicit drugs that can lead to toxicity and hepatitis C infections. Along with all the positive developments, there remains a strong need to discover and develop nonaddictive opioids and comparable non-opioid alternatives for acute pain management.