China restricts opioid oxycodone with tighter painkiller rules in battle against addiction

China has imposed new restrictions on the opioid oxycodone, its drug regulator said, as the country tightens control of its painkillers industry in the battle against drug addiction.

Oxycodone, among the heavy-duty painkillers blamed for the deadly opioid crisis in the United States, will be classified as a psychotropic drug in some formulations and require more approvals to produce or prescribe them, the National Medical Products Administration said late on Tuesday.

Oral solid formulations with more than 5mg of oxycodone per unit will be categorised as first-class psychotropic drugs from September 1, the agency said.

Formulations with less than 5mg of oxycodone per unit, as well as composite oral solid formulations with buprenorphine and naloxone, will be categorised as second-class psychotropic drugs at the same time, it said.

Under current laws, first-class psychotropic drugs are banned from sale to retail customers, and second-class products cannot be sold to minors.