Methoxyflurane - AKA The Green Whistle

Have You Used the Green Whistle?
Doctor Ricky

Huh. I've never heard of this stuff, so I asked Google why the FDA banned methoxyflurane, which got me to this page in the Federal Register. After wading through paragraphs of bureaucratese I found this line:

FDA's review shows that methoxyflurane, a volatile anesthetic agent, is associated with serious, irreversible, and even fatal nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity in humans. 

Nephrotoxicity means damage to the kidneys and hepatotoxicity means damage to the liver, both can be serious problems, so maybe the FDA had a reason to ban it, and it was not just the Sacklers trying to protect their monopoly on pain medication.

Then I found a press release on OINDP news dated March 3, 2022 that contained this line:

According to Medical Developments International (MVP), the FDA has lifted a clinical hold on MVP's Penthrox methoxyflurane inhaler and, as a result, MVP is now preparing a Phase 3 trial of Penthrox for trauma pain that is expected to begin recruiting by the end of this year. 

So if the trials go well it might get approved in the USA.