Diarrhea Drug Imodium Swept Up in Opioid Crisis Under FDA Rules

Boxes of Johnson & Johnson’s popular antidiarrheal drug Imodium could soon contain far fewer caplets, under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration request that seeks to limit access of drug abusers to pills that can produce an opioid-like high.

The FDA has asked J&J and makers of generic versions of Imodium to reduce the number of caplets in a retail package. A safety communication released Jan. 30 by the FDA doesn’t specify the amount the agency wants manufacturers to limit purchases to, but notes that consumers are only supposed to take the over-the-counter version the drug for two days, or ...