Two medicines, side by side
Methadone vs morphine
Methadone and morphine are both labeled for pain. Drugs@FDA records approvals of methadone since 1947 and of morphine since 1984. Pharmacies paid $0.177 per methadone HCl 10 mg tablet and $0.226 per morphine sulfate ir 15 mg tablet (NADAC, October 7, 2026); the strengths differ, so the two prices are not like for like. How each works, in its label's words: Methadone, “Methadone hydrochloride is a mu-agonist; a synthetic opioid with multiple actions qualitatively similar to those of morphine, the most prominent of which involves the central nervous system and …”; Morphine, “Morphine is a full opioid agonist is relatively selective for the mu-opioid receptor, although it can bind to other opioid receptors at higher doses.”
Check it at the source: the methadone FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 8, 2025); the morphine FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 13, 2026).
Highlights of the methadone record
Methadone (Diskets) · label of December 8, 2025
SERIOUS AND LIFE-THREATENING RISKS FROM USE OF METHADONE HYDROCHLORIDE TABLETS: Addiction, Abuse, and Misuse Because the use of methadone hydrochloride tablets exposes patients and other users to the risks of opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death, assess each patient's risk prior to prescribing and reassess all patients regularly for the development of these behaviors and conditions [ see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ].
Used for
From the label: indicationsMethadone hydrochloride tablets are indicated for the: 1. Management of severe and persistent pain that requires an opioid analgesic and that cannot be adequately treated with alternative options, including immediate-release opioids. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- August 13, 1947
- Generic labelers
- 18 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.177 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 4
Highlights of the morphine record
Morphine (Duramorph) · label of July 13, 2026
ADDICTION, ABUSE, AND MISUSE; RISK EVALUATION AND MITIGATION STRATEGY (REMS); LIFE-THREATENING RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION; ACCIDENTAL INGESTION; NEONATAL OPIOID WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME; and RISKS FROM CONCOMITANT USE WITH BENZODIAZEPINES OR OTHER CNS DEPRESSANTS Addiction, Abuse, and Misuse Morphine sulfate exposes patients and other users to the risks of opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death.
Used for
From the label: indicationsMorphine sulfate extended-release tablets are indicated for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- September 18, 1984
- Generic labelers
- 22 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.226 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- In shortage
- Recalls
- 66
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA (Methadone label of December 8, 2025, Morphine label of July 13, 2026); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do methadone and morphine differ on the record?
How each works, in its label's words: Methadone, “Methadone hydrochloride is a mu-agonist; a synthetic opioid with multiple actions qualitatively similar to those of morphine, the most prominent of which involves the central nervous system and …”; Morphine, “Morphine is a full opioid agonist is relatively selective for the mu-opioid receptor, although it can bind to other opioid receptors at higher doses.”
Both are in FDA's class opioid agonists.
Half-life, in each label's words: Methadone, “Published reports indicate that after multiple dose administration the apparent plasma clearance of methadone ranged …”; Morphine, “Excretion The elimination of morphine occurs primarily as renal excretion of M3G and its effective half-life after …”
Both labels carry a boxed warning; the records quote them.
Generics: methadone since 1981; morphine since 1986 (Drugs@FDA).
| Methadone | Morphine | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Pain, Opioid use disorder | Pain |
| Pharmacologic class | Opioid Agonist | Opioid Agonist |
| How it works (label) | Methadone hydrochloride is a mu-agonist; a synthetic opioid with multiple actions qualitatively similar to those of morphine, the most prominent of which involves the central nervous system and organs composed of smooth muscle. | Morphine is a full opioid agonist is relatively selective for the mu-opioid receptor, although it can bind to other opioid receptors at higher doses. The principal therapeutic action of morphine is analgesia. |
| Half-life (label) | Published reports indicate that after multiple dose administration the apparent plasma clearance of methadone ranged between 1.4 and 126 L/h, and the terminal half-life (T 1/2 ) was highly variable and ranged between 8 … | Excretion The elimination of morphine occurs primarily as renal excretion of M3G and its effective half-life after intravenous administration is normally 2 to 4 hours. |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | August 13, 1947 | September 18, 1984 |
| First generic approved | May 22, 1981 | October 7, 1986 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 18 labelers | 22 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.177 per tablet (Methadone HCl 10 mg tablet) | $0.226 per tablet (Morphine sulfate ir 15 mg tablet) |
| 12-month price change | -7% | -12% |
| Boxed warning | Yes | Yes |
| Shortage now | No current entry | In shortage |
| Recalls recorded | 4 | 66 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 45,988 | 120,591 |
| DEA schedule | CII | CII |
Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026, FDA shortages and recalls, FAERS via openFDA (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What do the labels say about using others of their kind?
Methadone label, warnings and precautionsRisks from Concomitant Use with Benzodiazepines or Other CNS Depressants Profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death may result from the concomitant use of Methadone hydrochloride tablets with benzodiazepines and/or other CNS depressants (e.g., alcohol, non-benzodiazepine sedatives/hypnotics, anxiolytics, tranquilizers, muscle relaxants, general anesthetics, antipsychotics, gabapentinoids [gabapentin …
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA
What next?
- Alternatives to methadone
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions