Recent advances in abuse-deterrent technologies for the delivery of opioids

Over the past decade, the abuse of prescription opioid drugs has become a national health crisis in the United States. Pharmaceutical companies, the Food and Drug Administration, and other government agencies are confronting opioid abuse by developing and commercializing various abuse-deterrent drug delivery technologies. To deter opioid abuse, various strategies including physical barriers, chemical barriers, antagonists, aversive agents, and prodrugs have been investigated. A number of drug products with abuse-deterrent properties have been approved by the FDA over the last six years, while many products and technologies with progressively-improved abuse-deterrence properties are currently being evaluated. This article provides a comprehensive review of the material sciences principles that govern the formulation and processing of a wide range of abuse-deterrent products and technologies.