FDA considers requiring co-prescribing overdose antidote to go along with opioids

The Food and Drug Administration is considering requiring doctors to prescribe an overdose reversal drug with prescription painkillers such as OxyCodone, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced Tuesday.

The overdose antidote, known as naloxone, can save the lives of people who’ve suffered overdoses. The FDA may require the drug to be prescribed every time a patient receives an opioid to treat pain, or only if they receive a particularly high dose.