FDA Bans Generic Version of Oxycontin

On the day when the patent for the original version of OxyContin was set to expire the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it would not approve generic versions of the powerful narcotic Oxycontin.
The move represents a victory for OxyContin’s manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, which in 2010 introduced a formulation of the drug that was less prone to tampering.
The original version of OxyContin, which was approved in late 1995, could be easily crushed, a step that released its entire narcotic payload at once rather than over time as intended. The new version turns into a jellylike mass when crushed.

The decision is likely to result in higher prices for OxyContin, a time-release form of a narcotic called oxycodone, because it will not face generic competition.