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What is Oxycontin?

Oxycontin is a trademarked word for a patented slow-release tablet containing oxycodone, a codeine derivative, i.e., an opiate, which is a regulated narcotic.

Oxycodone is a principal ingredient in Percocet and Percodan, but without the slow-release tablet feature. Oxycodone is an oxidative derivative of codeine, both of these being ultimately derived from morphine, and all being opium alkaloids. Oxycontin was originally developed to reduce the pain of terminal cancer patients, but the FDA approved its use in other situations depending on the discretion of physicians.

The structure of all of these morphine-derived chemical compounds include a set of four fused 6-member rings (each of the rings shares two atoms with its neighbor with which it is fused), three of the fused rings correspond to the phenanthrene structure, i.e., all aromatic carbon-only atoms. The fourth fused ring is a six-member ring containing a nitrogen atom, the ring resembling pyridine. Various pendant groups and attachments, as well as degree of saturation in one or more of the rings, determines the particular chemical compound.

Related patents include: US Patent Nos. 2740787, 2665277, 2649454, 2654756, 2628962, 2806033, 584388 for early opiates. These are classified in USCS 546/44 and 45. Recent Oxycontin patents include: 5549912, 5266331, 4970075, and 4861598. These are classified in USCS 424/468 and other subclasses in class 424.