OXYCONTIN HEARINGS POSTPONED

The Food and Drug Administration has postponed a two-day hearing that
was expected to focus on the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

The Anesthetic and Life Support Drug Advisory Committee was scheduled
to convene today in Rockville, Md., but the meeting was put off
because of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., an
FDA official said.

A new date has not been scheduled.

OxyContin, which has proven highly effective in treating moderate to
severe pain, is also easily converted into a street drug with
devastating effects in parts of Western Virginia, where at least 55
people have died of fatal overdoses from its active ingredient.