The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released its yearly examination of deaths attributed to drug overdose. This year's results were a sobering reminder of the continuing impact that illicit drugs have had on our society, though an encouraging trend may have emerged.According to the report, more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2023. Of those deaths, over 81,000 were from opioids, and more than 76,000 were due to synthetic opioids.
Drug developers also tried to create novel treatments with enhanced safety via molecular modifications such as prodrugs and ligand-biased agents, though these efforts have failed to meaningfully reduce abuse. More recently, developers have gained attention targeting non-opioid receptors, but the utility of these targets to adequately address moderate-to-severe acute pain remains limited.