Despite Fears, Fda Panel Oks Painkilling Narcotic Lollipop

A raspberry-flavored lollipop loaded with narcotic painkiller for treatment of cancer patients was recommended for federal approval Wednesday, despite concerns about accidental poisoning of children.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously that the benefit to cancer patients from the painkilling candy far outweighs the risk of young children being harmed.

“Some kid, somewhere, somehow is going to do this (eat the lollipop),” said Suzanna Brown, a Portland nurse and a member of the panel. “But do we deny this benefit to cancer patients for that reason?”

FDA approval is required before the lollipop can be sold, but the agency generally follows the recommendations of advisory committees.

The lollipop, called Actiq, is to be manufactured by Anesta Corp. of Salt Lake City and marketed in partnership with Abbott Laboratories. It is to be available only with a doctor’s prescription.

The drug is actually a sugar-based lozenge on a stick. It is loaded with fentanyl citrate, a narcotic commonly used in other forms to treat cancer pain. The lollipop is an off-white color and the stick bears a large “Rx” mark.

Anesta officials said the product is designed to be unattractive to children and is packaged in a foil pouch that studies showed could not be opened by children up to the age of 4.

Actiq is designed for cancer patients who already are receiving opiates to control chronic pain. The lollipop will be used for quick relief from what is called “breakthrough pain,” sudden spasms of pain so severe that they break through the round-the-clock dosage used to control chronic pain.