FDA Approves Morphine Sulfate Oral Solution

Last spring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration initially banned, then allowed a form of liquid morphine (20 mg/ml morphine sulfate solution). Now it has released an official approval:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Morphine Sulfate Oral Solution for the relief of moderate to severe, acute and chronic pain in opioid-tolerant patients. This medicine will be available in 100 milligrams per 5 mL or 20 milligrams per 1 mL.

This is the only FDA approved morphine sulfate oral solution available at this concentration. Although the use of this medicine to manage pain has been common practice for many years, this form and concentration of morphine was not FDA approved until now.

Hospice organizations and hospice professionals expressed concern about limiting these forms of morphine, and those concerns were heard by the FDA. View other posts about this change at the Center to Advance Palliative Care, and the GeriPal and Pallimed blogs.)