The drug combination morphine/naltrexone (trade name Embeda) is an

opioid Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid use ...

combination pain medication developed by King Pharmaceuticals for use in moderate to severe pain. The active ingredients are

morphine sulfate Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. Th ...

and naltrexone hydrochloride; morphine being an opioid receptor agonist and

naltrexone Naltrexone, sold under the brand name Revia among others, is a medication primarily used to manage alcohol or opioid use disorder by reducing cravings and feelings of euphoria associated with substance use disorder. It has also been foun ...

opioid receptor antagonist An opioid antagonist, or opioid receptor antagonist, is a receptor antagonist that acts on one or more of the opioid receptors. Naloxone and naltrexone are commonly used opioid antagonist drugs which are competitive antagonists that bind to the o ...

. It is a schedule 2 controlled substance, and is intended for long-term pain caused by malignancy or where lower tiers of the pain management ladder have already been exhausted, and where medications such as

oxycodone Oxycodone, sold under various brand names such as Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended release form), is a strong, semi-synthetic opioid used medically for treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and a commonly ...

would otherwise have been indicated. King Pharmaceuticals temporarily recalled Embeda in 2011 after complaints from the FDA in regard to King Pharmaceuticals omitting information regarding the potentially fatal reaction if crushed and swallowed and also for making unsubstantiated claims regarding Embeda's reduced abuse potential. Embeda became available again some years later.

References

Opiates Semisynthetic opioids Kappa-opioid receptor antagonists Mu-opioid receptor antagonists Pfizer brands Combination analgesics {{analgesic-stub

See also

References