Patent on abuse-resistant drug to expire

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LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The patent on an abuse-resistant type of OxyContin will expire in April, leading to worries that generics will flood the Kentucky market again, activists said.

The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal said the new version of the pill turns into a gummy substance if an addict tries to crush it for injection.

But activists said when it disappears from the market in April, generic drugs with no abuse-resistant technology will likely take its place.

"You'll see a lot more oxycodone abuse again. You'll see a lot of overdoses. You'll see the ER visits. You'll see the funeral homes pick up business," Joshua Huffman, a 31-year-old recovering pill addict and anti-drug activist from Pikeville, Ky, said.

U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-5th District, said he is working on a bill that will force the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to deny applicants for generic drugs that don't use abuse-resistant technologies, the newspaper reported.

But some in the drug business said legitimate patients take most of the pills, and generics cost them much less than the abuse-resistant technologies.