Rates of abuse of tramadol remain unchanged with the introduction of new branded and generic products: results of an abuse monitoring system, 1994-2004

Abstract

Purpose: The analgesic Tramadol HCl (Ultram) was approved in 1994 as a non-scheduled drug under the CSA provided that a novel risk-management program would be developed by an Independent Steering Committee (ISC). The risk-management program began in 1995 with the launch of Ultram, and has been modified over the past decade to accommodate Ultracet (Ultram and acetaminophen) in 2001 and generic tramadol in 2002. This provided a unique opportunity to study the potential changes in abuse as the generic and combination products became available.

Methods: To proactively detect cases of abuse and diversion, the ISC developed a comprehensive questionnaire which was completed quarterly by an extensive network of drug abuse experts (n = 309) and police agencies (n = 100) who were asked to indicate how many diversion cases involving Ultram, Ultracet, and generic tramadol were identified during the preceding 3 months and what were the ten most commonly diverted drugs in their catchment area during that period.

Results and conclusions: The data generated demonstrate that the abuse of tramadol remained very low despite new branded and generic formulations. Contrary to the hypothesis that cheaper generic drugs would lead to higher rates of abuse, we found no increase in abuse with the introduction of generic tramadol. Ultracet abuse rates, unlike those found with other widely used hydrocodone and oxycodone combination products, have been even lower than that observed for tramadol. Since the FDA has now mandated that proactive risk-management plans be implemented for new drugs, the tramadol risk-management plan may be useful as a prototypic model which can be modified to accommodate other drugs with abuse potential.