Opioids EOD Media Report 3/29/17

Traditional Coverage

1. There's only one way to end the opioid epidemic, and the White House isn't talking about it

   Mar 29, 2017 | Business Insider

   By Linette Lopez
   
   
   There's only one way to end the opioid epidemic, and so far — despite all the noise around Wednesday's meeting of a White House commission on the issue — it doesn't look as if the White House wants to touch it.
2. Senators launch investigation into opioid manufacturers

   Mar 29, 2017 | BioPharma Dive

   In response to climbing numbers of deaths and rising sales of prescription opioids, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has launched an investigation into the manufacturers of the top five opioids by 2015 sales, to understand their role in opioid overuse and overprescribing.
3. One Senator Is Going After Big Pharma Over The Opioid Epidemic

   Mar 29, 2017 | Newsy

   U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill wants to know if drug companies played a role in fueling America's opioid epidemic.
4. Dem Senator Targets Colleague’s Daughter With Opioid Investigation

   Mar 29, 2017 | Free Beacon

   By Brent Scher
   
   
   Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D.) launched an investigation this week into the country's leading opioid manufacturers, including one that is run by the daughter of one of her Democratic colleagues.

Full Text of Stories Below

Traditional Coverage

1. There's only one way to end the opioid epidemic, and the White House isn't talking about it

   Mar 29, 2017 | Business Insider

   By Linette Lopez

   There's only one way to end the opioid epidemic, and so far — despite all the noise around Wednesday's meeting of a White House commission on the issue — it doesn't look as if the White House wants to touch it.

   You see, what was discussed by the commission isn't just a plan in its early stages; it's a clear step in the wrong direction.

   In a Wednesday press briefing following a meeting of this White House commission, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, blamed the crisis on "cheap heroin" flooding the market, and he credited President Donald Trump with already taking action against drug cartels. He framed the battle against the epidemic as one for the Drug Enforcement Administration and law enforcement.

   If that's what the White House is focused on, it has the situation all wrong.

   The problem here isn't with drug cartels; the problem is big pharma and its multidecade campaign to normalize the prescription and sale of highly addictive opiate pain medication. It's usually only after prescriptions for this medication run out, or become too expensive, when addicts turn to cheap heroin.

   If Trump isn't going after big business, he's not going after this problem. Period.Serious

   Since the 1990s, big pharma has paid off doctors to encourage them to write prescriptions for opioid painkillers, it has generated studies that made the effects of these drugs seem way less destructive than they are, and it has greased the wheels of the US healthcare system to make insurance payments easier to collect.

   Here's an example of this behavior. Last month two Alabama doctors were found guilty of making millions by running an opioid "pill mill." They were getting patients addicted, overcharging them and their healthcare providers for treatment, and accepting payments from Insys Therapeutics, a maker of fentanyl.

   Another one: In 2009, the American Geriatrics Society created guidelines recommending that doctors use opioids to treat all kinds of pain. Of the 10 experts on the panel, however, at least five had ties to big opiate producers.More serious

   You may recognize some of the names in this game, and you might not: Purdue, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, Insys, Mylan, and Depomed, to name a few.

   More companies are involved in the rise of the opiate crisis, but those five are a start. At least, they're a starting point for Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Missouri Democrat who on Tuesdayannounced an investigation into the marketing practices of companies that manufacture opioids and the drugs that are meant to treat opioid overdoses. According to the press release announcing the investigation, McCaskill requested from those five companies:

   Documents showing any internal estimates of the risk of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose, diversion, or death arising from the use of any opioid product or any estimates of these risks produced by third-party contractors or vendors.

   Any reports generated within the last five years summarizing or concerning compliance audits of sales and marketing policies.

   Marketing and business plans, including plans for direct-to-consumer and physician marketing, developed during the last five years.

   Quotas for sales representatives dedicated to opioid products concerning the recruitment of physicians for speakers programs during the last five years.

   Contributions to a variety of third-party advocacy organizations.Any reports issued to government agencies during the last five years in accordance with corporate integrity agreements or other settlement agreements.

   "All of this didn't happen overnight — it happened one prescription and marketing program at a time," McCaskill said in the statement. "The vast majority of the employees, executives, sales representatives, scientists, and doctors involved with this industry are good people and responsible actors, but some are not. This investigation is about finding out whether the same practices that led to this epidemic still continue today, and if decisions are being made that harm the public health."Not serious

   Of course, the ways a White House policy could deflect blame for the opioid crisis away from the pharma companies have been out in the ether for a while, and no one has articulated them better than Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

   Manchin, a Democrat, would have the government focus on the Food and Drug Administration's classification of opioids, maybe have the agency slow down approval for new opiates, and have a "one-penny fee on every milligram of opiates that are produced and sold in America" to be collected for treatment.

   As a side note, Manchin's daughter Heather Bresch is the CEO of the drug company Mylan, one of the five companies McCaskill is going after.

   Manchin also called marijuana the gateway drug to opioids.

   This is a joke, and it's an insult to the people whose "gateway" to addiction was a doctor who said these medications would be safe.

   Please stop joking.

   Return to headline | Return to top

2. Senators launch investigation into opioid manufacturers

   Mar 29, 2017 | BioPharma Dive

   In response to climbing numbers of deaths and rising sales of prescription opioids, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has launched an investigation into the manufacturers of the top five opioids by 2015 sales, to understand their role in opioid overuse and overprescribing.

   McCaskill has written to Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Insys, Mylan, and Depomed. The committee is requesting access to internal estimates of the risk of abuse or death, compliance audits, marketing and business plans, quotas for sales reps, contributions to advocacy organizations and reports to government agencies.

   Earlier in 2017, McCaskill requested a Department of Justice Officer of the Inspector General investigation into the Drug Enforcement Administration's capacity to oversee drug distributors and their role in curbing opioid abuse.Dive Insight:

   Opioid deaths are climbing in the U.S., whether through deliberate or accidental overdose. In 2015 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were over 33,000 deaths due to opioid abuse and almost half of these involved a prescription drug.

   “I hear it everywhere I go—drug overdose deaths, the vast majority of them related to prescription opioids or heroin, are single-handedly destroying families and communities across Missouri and the country, and I refuse to just stand by and watch—we have an obligation to everyone devastated by this epidemic to find answers,” U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill said in her letter.

   Sales of opioids have quadrupled since 1999, and Senator McCaskill, who is the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, wants to understand whether the pharmaceutical manufacturers have done what they should, or whether they have actually played a part in this increase, though perhaps it appears by her statement that this is exactly where she is laying the blame.

   "This epidemic is the direct result of a calculated sales and marketing strategy major opioid manufacturers have allegedly pursued over the past 20 years to expand their market share and increase dependency on powerful—and often deadly—painkillers," McCaskill wrote. "To achieve this goal, manufacturers have reportedly sought, among other techniques, to downplay the risk of addiction to their products and encourage physicians to prescribe opioids for all cases of pain and in high doses. All of this didn’t happen overnight—it happened one prescription and marketing program at a time. This investigation is about finding out whether the same practices that led to this epidemic still continue today, and if decisions are being made that harm the public health.”

   In a statement to BioPharma Dive, Mylan expressed its concern about the epidemic and surprise at being included in this cohort of companies. 

   "We welcome the Senator’s interest in this important matter and we share her concerns regarding the misuse of prescription opioids. We very much hope that the Senator expands her interest to include the top ten suppliers of opioid drugs to the U.S. market. In 2016, Mylan ranked as the number 17 supplier of opioids sold in the U.S., representing approximately 1% of the entire U.S. opioid market. Despite being a small player in this area, we are committed to helping find solutions to the issue of opioid abuse and misuse," said Mylan via email. 

   Both Purdue and Depomed told BioPharma Dive in statements that the company is currently reviewing Senator McCaskill’s letter and will respond and cooperate accordingly.

   Return to headline | Return to top

3. One Senator Is Going After Big Pharma Over The Opioid Epidemic

   Mar 29, 2017 | Newsy

   U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill wants to know if drug companies played a role in fueling America's opioid epidemic.

   The Missouri Democrat is launching an investigation into the top five opioid manufacturers: Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Insys, Depomed and Mylan.

   McCaskill wants information on what each company knows about opioid addiction and how each marketed the drugs to the public.

   She told reporters she wants to know why the drugs have suddenly been "handed out like candy in this country."

   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the number of prescription opioids sold in the U.S. has quadrupled since 1999.

   Overdose deaths involving opioids — including those from heroin — have also quadrupled since 1999.

   According to the most recent data, more than 15,000 people died from overdoses involving prescription opioids in 2015.

   McCaskill is in the minority party. So if the companies don't want to hand the documents over, she doesn't have the power to subpoena them.

   But she said she hopes her Republican colleagues will step up.

   Return to headline | Return to top

4. Dem Senator Targets Colleague’s Daughter With Opioid Investigation

   Mar 29, 2017 | Free Beacon

   By Brent Scher

   Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D.) launched an investigation this week into the country's leading opioid manufacturers, including one that is run by the daughter of one of her Democratic colleagues.

   Among the five companies initially alerted to McCaskill's investigation was Mylan, a leading opioid manufacturer that is run by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin's (W.Va.) daughter Heather Bresch, who is the company's CEO.

   In a statement, McCaskill put blame on the marketing campaigns put in place by executives in pharmaceutical companies such as Mylan for allowing the opioid epidemic to become the crisis it is today.

   "All of this didn't happen overnight," McCaskill said. "It happened one prescription and marketing program at a time."

   "The vast majority of the employees, executives, sales representatives, scientists, and doctors involved with this industry are good people and responsible actors, but some are not. This investigation is about finding out whether the same practices that led to this epidemic still continue today, and if decisions are being made that harm the public health," she said.

   This is not the first time that Manchin's daughter has been targeted by his Democratic colleagues.

   Another instance came last year after it was reported last year that Mylan was overcharging for its EpiPen, a lifesaving device for individuals with severe allergies.

   Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) called for an investigation into possible anti-trust violations by Bresch and Mylan.

   Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) accused Mylan of "bilking taxpayers out of millions of dollars."

   Bloomberg reported that it would be "awkward" for Bresch to be called to testify on Capitol Hill given that her father is a member of the Senate.

   Manchin has been criticized for his lack of focus on pharmaceutical companies in his response to the opioid crisis.

   Return to headline | Return to top

Full Text of Stories Below