This grade answers one narrow question: how strong is the public evidence and safety record behind this drug, and how clean is its money trail and court record? It is not a verdict on whether the drug is right for you.
WARNING: SERIOUS AND LIFE-THREATENING RISKS FROM USE OF CONZIP WARNING: SERIOUS AND LIFE-THREATENING RISKS FROM USE OF CONZIP See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. CONZIP exposes users to risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death. Assess patient's risk before prescribing and reassess regularly for these behaviors and conditions. ( 5.1 ) Serious, life-threatening, or fatal respiratory depression may occur, especially during initiation or following a dosage increase. To reduce the risk of respiratory depression, proper dosing and titration are essential. Instruct patients to swallow CONZIP capsules intact, and not to split, chew, crush, or dissolve content of the capsules to avoid exposure to a potentially fatal dose of tramadol. ( 2.1 , 5.2 ) Accidental ingestion of CONZIP, especially by children, can result in a fatal overdose of tramadol. ( 5.2 ) Concomitant use of opioids with benzodiazepines or other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, including alcohol, may result in profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death. Reserve concomitant prescribing for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options ...
Warnings the FDA chose to announce publicly after approval, as opposed to quiet label edits. Class-wide items name the drug's class, not this drug specifically.
is indicated for the management of severe and persistent pain that requires an opioid analgesic and that cannot be adequately treated with alternative options, including immediate-release opioids. CONZIP is an opioid agonist indicated for the management of severe and persistent pain that requires an opioid analgesic and that cannot be adequately treated with alternative options, including immediate-release opioids. ( 1 ) Limitations of Use Because of the risks of addiction, abuse, misuse, overdose, and death, which can occur at any dosage or duration and persist over the course of therapy, reserve opioid analgesics, including CONZIP, for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options are ineffective, not tolerated, or would be otherwise inadequate to provide sufficient management of pain. ( 1 , 5.1 ) CONZIP is not indicated as an as-needed (prn) analgesic. ( 1 ) Limitation of Use Because of the risks of addiction, abuse, misuse, overdose, and death, which can occur at any dosage or duration and persist over the course of therapy [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] , reserve opioid analgesics, including CONZIP, for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options are...
is contraindicated for: All children younger than 12 years of age [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] Postoperative management in children younger than 18 years of age following tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] CONZIP is also contraindicated in patients with: Significant respiratory depression [see Warnings and Precautions (5.12) ] Acute or severe bronchial asthma in an unmonitored setting or in the absence of resuscitative equipment [see Warnings and Precautions (5.12) ] Known or suspected gastrointestinal obstruction, including paralytic ileus [see Warnings and Precautions (5.16) ] Hypersensitivity to tramadol (e.g., anaphylaxis) [see Warnings and Precautions (5.17) , Adverse Reactions (6) ] Concurrent use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) or use within the last 14 days [see Drug Interactions (7) ] Children younger than 12 years of age. ( 4 ) Postoperative management in children younger than 18 years of age following tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy. ( 4 ) Significant respiratory depression. ( 4 ) Acute or severe bronchial asthma in an unmonitored setting or in absence of resuscitative equipment. ( 4 ) Known or suspected gastroint...
Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia and Allodynia: Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia (OIH) occurs when an opioid analgesic paradoxically causes an increase in pain, or an increase in sensitivity to pain. If OIH is suspected, carefully consider appropriately decreasing the dose of the current opioid analgesic or opioid rotation. ( 5.8 ) Serotonin Syndrome Risk: Potentially life-threatening condition could result from use of CONZIP, particularly during concomitant use of serotonergic drugs. ( 5.9 ) Increased Risk of Seizures: Present within recommended dosage range. Risk is increased with higher than recommended doses and concomitant use of SSRIs, SNRIs, anorectics, tricyclic antidepressants and other tricyclic compounds, other opioids, MAOIs, neuroleptics, other drugs that reduce seizure threshold, in patients with epilepsy or at risk for seizures. ( 5.10 , 7 ) Suicide Risk: Do not use CONZIP in suicidal or addiction-prone patients. Use with caution in those taking tranquilizers, antidepressants or abuse alcohol. ( 5.11 ) Life-Threatening Respiratory Depression in Patients with Chronic Pulmonary Disease or in Elderly, Cachectic, or Debilitated Patients: Regularly evaluate, particularly during ini...
The following serious or otherwise important adverse reactions are described in greater detail, in other sections: Addiction, Abuse, and Misuse [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Life-Threatening Respiratory Depression [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Interactions with Benzodiazepines and Other CNS Depressants [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] Ultra-Rapid Metabolism of Tramadol and Other Risk Factors for Life-Threatening Respiratory Depression in Children [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia and Allodynia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8) ] Serotonin Syndrome [see Warnings and Precautions (5.9) ] Seizures [see Warnings and Precautions (5.10) ] Suicide [see Warnings and Precautions (5.11) ] Adrenal Insufficiency [see Warnings and Precautions (5.13) ] Severe Hypotension [see Warnings and Precautions (5.14) ] Gastrointestinal Adverse Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.16) ] Hypersensitivity Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.17) ] Withdrawal [see Warnings and Precautions (5.18) ] Most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥10% and twice placebo) are nausea...
Boxed Warning 12/2025 Indications and Usage ( 1 ) 12/2025 Dosage and Administration ( 2.1 , 2.2 , 2.3 , 2.5 ) 12/2025 Warnings and Precautions ( 5.1 , 5.2 , 5.3 , 5.10 , 5.16 , 5.18 ) 12/2025
Source: FDA SPL label for ConZip (Vertical Pharmaceuticals, LLC), effective 20251229. Full label on DailyMed.
These are counts of reports people filed, not rates of harm. Anyone can file one, and nobody checks whether the drug was the cause. Millions of doses are taken for every report sent, so the useful part is how this drug compares with the average across all drugs.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18,884 | 21,804 | 23,393 | 14,912 | 14,632 | 7,543 | 10,501 | 4,714 |
1,702 reports blaming this drug for every million Medicare prescriptions filled, which is 0.6× the typical drug on this site. (22,404 reports in 2024–2026, against 13,163,232 Medicare fills in one year. This is the one number here that accounts for how many people take the drug.)
Source: the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports are voluntary and unverified. Drugs that are prescribed a lot, in the news, or in lawsuits attract more reports, so the percentages are compared with the whole database to correct for that partly, not fully.
| Date | Class | Firm | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04/2024 | Class II | Rubicon Research Private Limited | Presence of Foreign Tablets: Pharmacist reported a tablet of baclofen in a bottle of 1000-count tramadol |
Class I = reasonable probability of serious harm. Class II = temporary or reversible harm. Class III = unlikely to harm. Most generic recalls are manufacturing or labeling defects for one lot, not a verdict on the molecule.
Counts measure how much evidence exists and how transparent it is, not how big the benefit is. For that, ask your prescriber: if 100 people like me took this, how many would get better because of it, and how many would be harmed? (Doctors call these the "number needed to treat" and "number needed to harm.") It differs by condition and is the number drug ads leave out. Sources: PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov.
In 2024, drug companies reported $642 in payments to US physicians and hospitals tied to this drug across 43 transactions (Qdolo $642).
No pending federal MDL names this drug or its brands.
Not named in any federal pharmaceutical settlement of $100M or more on record.
Sources: CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act); Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending docket list; DOJ settlements as tabulated on Wikipedia with links to the primary record. State-court and individual suits are not included.
| Product | Fills | $/fill |
|---|---|---|
| Tramadol HCl | 12,939,330 | $7 |
| Tramadol HCl ER | 223,842 | $68 |
| Conzip | 60 | $688 |
No same-class alternatives found in RxClass.