THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG WAR: FDA wants opioid painkiller pulled off market.

If Opana ER sounds familiar, it’s because it was the drug of choice for many addicts at the center of an HIV outbreak in Indiana in 2015.

The drug is about twice as powerful as OxyContin, another often abused opioid. Opana ER, oxymorphone hydrochloride, is used to manage pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment for which alternatives aren’t strong enough, according to the manufacturer’s website. The FDA approved it for this use in 2006.

“My comment is ‘wow,’ ” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. “This is pretty exciting. This is big news.”

Though it is a “good sign” for the fight against opioid abuse, he said, “Opana is not the only one that needs to come off the market.”

How long before deadly knockoffs hit the streets?