Anesta/Abbott Actiq oral fentanyl may be used for chronic cancer and AIDS-related pain, FDA indicates.

ANESTA/ABBOTT ACTIQ MAY BE USED FOR BOTH CANCER AND AIDS BREAKTHROUGH PAIN episodes even though Anesta's NDA for fentanyl on a handle was based solely on data from chronic cancer pain patients, FDA Division of Anesthetic, Critical Care & Addiction Drug Products Deputy Director Curtis Wright, MD, indicated at Actiq's Sept. 17 review by the Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee. "We have not, as a division, differentiated between cancer pain and other severe chronic pain requiring opioid therapy, except as pertains to matters of safety," Wright said in response to committee members' inquiries about use in AIDS patients.