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# Opioid Questions Continue to Dog Califf: AP
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/opioid-questions-continue-to-dog-califf-ap/
- Published: 2022-07-28T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T17:53:49.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5152393

Lawmakers, patient advocates, and others are continuing to raise questions about a long-delayed review of prescription painkillers promised by FDA commissioner **Robert Califf** when he was commissioner in 2016, according to an Associated Press [report](https://www.avpress.com/news/newsline/skepticism-for-fda-chief-s-opioid-review/article%5Fb2d64e16-0e1f-11ed-b076-eb29217e1c3a.html?ref=fdaweb.com). The story also says Califf commissioned a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report that recommended reforms, including potentially removing some drugs from the market.

“Six years later, opioids are claiming more lives than ever, and FDA has not pulled a single drug from pharmacy shelves since the report’s publication,” AP says. “In fact, the agency continues putting new painkillers on the market, six in the last five years.”

Authors of the NAS report say FDA seems to have incorporated several of their recommendations into recent decisions, including a broader consideration of a drug’s public health risks. But, the AP says, they say there is more to be done. “All the concerns that we had at the time on opioids are still there,” said University of Virginia public health expert **Richard Bonnie**, who chaired the NAS committee. “We still have a really huge problem.”

Interviewed by the AP, Califf said a new internal review of opioids has been underway for months and the public will soon “be hearing a lot more about this.” While the review will look at past decisions, he said, the focus is on future policy.

“It seems like people love sort of looking back and fault-finding,” he said, “but I’m much more interested in learning so we can go forward and make the best decisions for what we need to do today.”