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Opioid Media Report (6/19)
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States are treating drug makers like street dealers to address the US opioid epidemic
Jun 19, 2017 | Quartz
By Ephrat Livni
Drug dealers expect to deal with law enforcement scrutiny and take calculated risks that they may end up in court for pushing illegal product on the streets. Less so, prescription pain-pill makers. But now, some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies are getting a taste of the medicine street dealers deal with every day. -
Montgomery County, Ohio, Branded Drug Overdose Capital of U.S.
Jun 19, 2017 | Inquisitr
By John Houck
Drug overdose deaths occur more often in Montgomery County, Ohio, than any other place in the U.S. Figures recently released by county officials revealed 365 people have died from overdoses so far this year. -
Are Drug Companies Responsible for the Growing US Opioid Epidemic?
Jun 19, 2017 | Transcript Daily
A panoptic coalition of US state attorneys general has formed a bipartisan committee aimed at looking into the marketing and sales practices of companies that make opioid pharmaceutical drugs. The goal for this coalition is to investigate what role these manufacturers may play in the growing opioid epidemic across the United States. -
Wisconsin attorney general reveals opioid investigation
Jun 19, 2017 | AP
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel has taken the unusual step of revealing the state Department of Justice is investigating opioid manufacturers.
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AG Opioid Investigation Coverage
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States are treating drug makers like street dealers to address the US opioid epidemic
Jun 19, 2017 | Quartz
By Ephrat Livni
Drug dealers expect to deal with law enforcement scrutiny and take calculated risks that they may end up in court for pushing illegal product on the streets. Less so, prescription pain-pill makers. But now, some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies are getting a taste of the medicine street dealers deal with every day.
On June 15, the chief prosecutors of at least 13 US states (including Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) announced a bipartisan nationwide investigation of opioid manufacturers’ business practices. (The exact number of participating states isn’t yet clear but those leading the charge say that a majority are involved, Reuters reports). The attorneys general believe a group of as-yet-unnamed drug companies misled doctors and their patients about the appropriate use of opioids for chronic pain and thus fueled a national crisis. “Due to the nature of the ongoing investigation, the state attorneys general are not identifying any targets at this time,” said Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey in a statement announcing her leadership in the investigation coalition.
The investigation is likely a first step towards a lawsuit, assuming prosecutors find the evidence they need to proceed. The national coalition of attorneys general says it will use its investigative tools, including subpoenas for documents and testimony, to determine the appropriate course of action. In other words, prosecutors will force companies to talk and hand over possibly incriminating documents, putting drugmakers in the awkward position of having to cooperate or defy the law and face charges for obstructing the investigation. “I am working with my colleagues in actively investigating whether manufacturers used illegal practices in the marketing and sale of opioids and worsened this deadly crisis,” said Healey.
Opioids, including prescription painkillers and heroin, killed more than 33,000 people in the US in 2015, according to the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is more than any year on record, and the numbers seem to be climbing still. In Massachusetts alone, opioid overdoses kill more than five people every day, said Healey. The state Department of Public Health estimates that more than 2,000 people died from opioid-related overdoses in 2016, which is the highest number ever recorded in the state and a 17% increase from the previous year.
The national investigation is part of a larger trend. States are struggling to treat addicted populations, and they want the businesses that profited to pay for their pain. It seems they believe the best vehicle to obtain payment will be lawsuits based on deceptive business practices, like false advertising.
Ohio and Mississippi have already filed lawsuits targeting Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Endo International, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and Allergan for “overstating the drugs’ benefits and playing down the addictive qualities.” Two California counties and nine in New York; the cities of Chicago, Illinois and Dayton, Ohio; and three Tennessee district attorneys have all initiated similar suits in the last three years. The companies named in these suits have all denied the allegations, saying the US Food and Drug Administration approved their products and that warning labels disclose all the risks.
Notwithstanding that, Teva, an Israeli-based pharmaceutical maker, is awaiting judicial approval of a proposed settlement (paywall) with California’s Santa Clara and Orange counties, which sued the company in 2014. If the deal is approved by a judge, Teva will pay $1.6 million to contribute to state substance addiction treatment programs in order to resolve claims it used misleading marketing practices to push opioid painkillers.
Although Teva admits no wrongdoing and said it agreed to the deal because it believes in addressing public health issues related to opioids, under the terms of the agreement, Teva would also have to refrain from misleading advertising and promoting opioid painkillers for off-label use. It will also have to disclose when it pays to publish articles discussing opioids in medical journals, and make the risk of addiction clear in any mention of the benefits of its painkillers, Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office said on June 1.
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Montgomery County, Ohio, Branded Drug Overdose Capital of U.S.
Jun 19, 2017 | Inquisitr
By John Houck
Drug overdose deaths occur more often in Montgomery County, Ohio, than any other place in the U.S. Figures recently released by county officials revealed 365 people have died from overdoses so far this year.
In 2016, Montgomery County had 371 recorded overdose deaths, and at the current pace, authorities estimate that number will easily double by the end of this year.
“We’re on a pace to have 800 people die this year due to overdose in our county,” said Sheriff Phil Plummer, as cited by NBC News. “Per capita, we’re Number 1 in the nation in overdose deaths.”
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department responds to numerous overdose calls every day. With so many cases, deputies are required to carry two doses of Narcan, a drug that helps reverse the effects of a drug overdose. Unfortunately, officers are still unable to prevent many victims from dying.
Almost 70 percent of the bodies examined by Montgomery County’s coroner are the result of a drug overdose. When performing an autopsy, the coroner’s office currently tests for over 24 types of fentanyl, a potent and highly addictive opioid pain medication.
Montgomery County is not the only part of the state overwhelmed by opioid drug overdoses. According to Coroner Kent Harshbarger, his staff performs examination services for several other Ohio counties, and he predicts at least 10,000 overdose cases will be processed before 2017 ends.Victims of drug overdoses often lose their lives despite help from first responders. [Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
With so many people dying from drug overdoses, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine took action on May 31 by filing a lawsuit against five of the largest opioid drug companies. Naming Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions, Allergan, Johnson & Johnson, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries as defendants, DeWine believes these companies have helped fuel the country’s current opioid overdose crisis. The filed complaint claims misleading marketing tactics were used to distribute “false and deceptive statements about the risks and benefits of long-term opioid use.”
While the companies are claiming no wrongdoing, several have already paid out millions of dollars in settlements related to prior lawsuits over the opioid crisis. In addition to the Ohio charge, Purdue and Johnson & Johnson are also fighting lawsuits filed by the state of Mississippi, four counties in New York, two California counties, and the city of Chicago.
In Ohio, over 4,100 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016, a 36 percent increase from the year before. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 33,000 Americans died nationwide from opioid drugs in 2015, more than any other year on record.States and local communities are blaming big pharmaceutical companies for the current opioid overdose crisis. [Image by John Moore/Getty Images]
Drug overdoses are responsible for more deaths among adults under 50 than any other cause, and health experts warn the number will increase unless something is done to slow or halt the opioid epidemic. In response to the growing overdose death toll, Montgomery County recently built an addition to the morgue so there would be more room for all the extra bodies.
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Are Drug Companies Responsible for the Growing US Opioid Epidemic?
Jun 19, 2017 | Transcript Daily
A panoptic coalition of US state attorneys general has formed a bipartisan committee aimed at looking into the marketing and sales practices of companies that make opioid pharmaceutical drugs. The goal for this coalition is to investigate what role these manufacturers may play in the growing opioid epidemic across the United States.
According to a statement from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 33,000 people died from opioid overdose in 2015. More importantly, almost half of these fatalities involved prescription opioids, not the street-bought kind. As a matter of fact, the data shows that three out of four heroin users start with legal narcotics—like oxycodone or hydrocodone—that are either chemically similar or a chemically derivative of the poppy plant; the very same plant from which illicit drug manufacturers make the street drug heroin.
This announcement is important, of course, because according to District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, “State attorneys general almost never announce the existence of investigations before they are completed.” However, he continues, “the opioid crisis is a uniquely dire situation.”
Racine also goes on to advise: “Deaths from opioid overdoses are skyrocketing across our country, and the District is no stranger to that trend. We are looking into what role, if any, marketing and related practices might have played in the increasing prescription and use of these powerful and addictive drugs.”
For now it is not clear just how many states are involved with this investigation but analysts suggest that it may just be too early in the process to know for certain. Perhaps in time the participants will reveal themselves.
Indeed, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton comments, “The multistate investigation will help us determine the appropriate course of action we can take as attorneys general to address the opioid epidemic.”
In addition, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan shares, “I want to know whether drug companies, seeking higher profits, have recklessly and unlawfully pushed addictive opioids,” adding also, “We must hold drug companies accountable for their role in the epidemic levels of opioid overdoses and deaths in Illinois and around the country.”
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Wisconsin attorney general reveals opioid investigation
Jun 19, 2017 | AP
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel has taken the unusual step of revealing the state Department of Justice is investigating opioid manufacturers.
Schimel announced last week that he and a group of attorneys general from other states have been looking into drug companies' opioid marketing practices to see if any have engaged in illegal activity.
The investigation could conceivably lead to a multi-state lawsuit against the companies. A number of states already have sued drug manufacturers, accusing them of misrepresenting the risk of prescription opioids and fueling addictions.
Rarely does Schimel or any DOJ official acknowledge the existence of an investigation.
Schimel and the other attorneys generals made the announcement Thursday. It came hours before Senate Democrats tried to pass legislation forcing him to consider a lawsuit.
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