FDA issues statement on agency’s first year accomplishments implementing SUPPORT Act authorities to address the opioids crisis - Drug Information Update

Statement from Acting Commissioner Dr. Sharpless on agency’s first year accomplishments implementing SUPPORT Act authorities to address the opioids crisis

Addressing the opioid crisis continues to be one of the FDA’s top public health priorities. While it is encouraging to see that, according to provisional data, total drug overdose deaths in the United States dropped 5.1% from 2017 to 2018 – the first decrease in more than two decades – we still have much work to do as deaths from drug overdoses remain at historically high levels. One focus of the FDA’s work over the past year has been implementing the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act), bipartisan legislation passed on October 24, 2018, which provided the agency new authorities to advance our efforts to confront the opioid crisis. On this one-year anniversary, I am pleased to share that we have taken the following actions to fulfill the requirements of various sections of the SUPPORT Act:

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