Pain can be a killer. Cephalon officially warned doctors yesterday to use its opioid pain reliever Fentora very, very carefully, or patients might die. Some already have, while others have experienced severe side effects--but only because of improper dosing or substitutions, or because they should never have been given opioids in the first place.

Cephalon said Fentora should only be used for cancer patients already using other opioids like morphine or another fentanyl product--not for post-op pain, migraines, sports-injury pain, and the like. And Fentora isn't a substitute for other fentanyl products. Investors reacted quickly to the news, sending shares down by more than 4 percent in double its usual daily trading volume.

- check out this release [1]
- here's the report [2] from SmartMoney

Related Articles:
FDA approves Fentora for cancer pain. Report [3]
Cephalon shares jump on Fentora decision. Report [4]
Cephalon takes heat for off-label narcotic promotion. Report [5]