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# FDA Getting Ahead of Drug Abuse Changes
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/fda-getting-ahead-of-drug-abuse-changes/
- Published: 2018-07-19T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T00:20:41.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5141911

FDA commissioner **Scott Gottlieb** and two top CDER officials say the agency is investing in a multifaceted system of pharmacovigilance, using various tools to mine traditional and new sources of epidemiologic data, assess products’ pharmacologic properties, and evaluate the social contexts in which substances are being used. Writing in the *New England Journal of Medicine*, the officials [say](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1806486?ref=fdaweb.com) the goal is to identify emerging trends earlier and intervene more quickly. The *Perspective* article discusses three recent examples illustrating the necessary elements of a new system:

- FDA has been tracking changes in prescribing and use patterns for gabapentinoids through a social media “listening platform” and exploring healthcare databases to assess the consequences of using gabapentinoids in combination with opioids;
- investigating use of the unapproved botanical kratom as an alleged treatment for opioid use disorder and pain; and
- exploring a dramatic increase in misuse and abuse of loperamide, a common OTC opioid product.

“FDA faces challenges as we confront the opioid crisis and monitor changing patterns of use, abuse, and misuse of other products,” the article concludes. “Going forward we will need to understand and be ready to respond to such challenges.”