Targiniq ER, a  powerful non-addictive painkiller, has just been approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Produced by Purdue Pharma, the narcotic pill is a combination of oxycodone and naloxone. Naloxone was added to the formula because it blocks the euphoric effects brought about by oxycodone.

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The pill is only prescribed to patients who have chronic pain and have not found any suitable medication that works.

Targiniq's approval comes after a study involving 600 patients with chronic lower back pain proved the medication was safe and effective.

Although common side effects observed so far are only nausea and vomiting, the FDA required Purdue Pharma to study the drug further and to monitor users, just in case there are incidents of abuse.

Despite the painkiller being non-addictive, people can still abuse it by overdosing.  

"When the pills are swallowed they are as addictive and dangerous as pure oxycodone," said Andrew Kolodny, Chief Medical Officer of the Phoenix House.

In the past few years, the FDA has experienced increasing pressure to restrict painkillers due to the rise of narcotic painkiller abuse in the United States.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 259 million prescriptions for narcotic painkillers in 2012.

Deaths due to overdoses have significantly increased since the 1990s, with an estimated 17,000 painkiller-related deaths in 2011.

Dr. Sharon Hertz, Deputy Director of the anesthesia, analgesia and addiction products division in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said "the development of opioids that are harder to abuse is needed in order to help address the public health crisis of prescription drug abuse in the US."

In 2010, Purdue Pharma also introduced a version of Oxycontin that was hard to crush. From then on, Oxyncontin abuse has decreased.

TagsFDA, US Food and Drug Administration, CDC, Targiniq, painkillers, drug abuse, prescription painkiller, naloxone, oxycodone, oxycontin, Purdue Pharma