BOSTON (Reuters)—Insys Therapeutics Inc sought to manipulate insurance payment approval for an opioid cancer pain drug called Subsys even if for inappropriate uses, according to a U.S. Senate report on the opioid crisis released on Wednesday. The report, released by Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, said those efforts led to an Insys employee making misleading statements…
Arizona Accuses Insys of Fraudulent Opioid Marketing Scheme
(Reuters)—Arizona’s attorney general sued Insys Therapeutics Inc on Thursday, accusing the drugmaker of engaging in a fraudulent marketing scheme aimed at increasing sales of a fentanyl-based cancer pain medicine. The lawsuit by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix comes during a series of federal and state investigations centered on…
S.C. Sues Purdue, Maker of OxyContin, Over Deceptive Marketing
(Reuters)—On Tuesday, South Carolina sued Purdue Pharma LP, becoming the latest state or local government to accuse the OxyContin maker of deceptive marketing practices that have contributed to a national opioid addiction epidemic. The lawsuit by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, filed in Richland County Court of Common Pleas in Columbia, accuses the company…
Trump Declares National Emergency on Opioid Abuse
BEDMINSTER, N.J. (Reuters)—U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency and said his administration was drafting papers to make it official. “The opioid crisis is an emergency and I’m saying officially right now it is an emergency,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey. “We’re going to draw it up and…
New Hampshire Sues Purdue Pharma over Opioid Marketing
(Reuters)—New Hampshire sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP on Tuesday, joining several state and local governments in accusing the drugmaker of engaging in deceptive marketing practices that have helped fuel a national opioid addiction epidemic. The lawsuit filed in Merrimack County Superior Court claimed that Purdue Pharma significantly downplayed the risk of addiction posed by…
DEA Proposes Cutting Production of Come Opioids
(Reuters)—The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Friday proposed a 20% reduction in the manufacture of certain commonly prescribed opioid painkillers, as well as other controlled substances for next year. The proposal comes as U.S. regulators and lawmakers take steps to limit the supply of opioids—a class of drugs that include prescription painkillers and heroin—to…
Oversupply of Opioids after Surgery Helps Fuel Opioid Epidemic
(Reuters Health)—More than two-thirds of surgery patients in a recent study had prescription opioids left over after they recovered from their operations, and the vast majority failed to safely store or dispose of the often misused and abused pills, researchers say. “Unused opioids that have been prescribed for pain after surgery serve as an important…
U.S. Launches Opioid Fraud and Detection Unit
(Reuters)—U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions unveiled on Wednesday a plan to go after doctors and pharmacies suspected of healthcare fraud by over-prescribing and unbridled distribution of addictive pain medications known as opioids. In a speech at a Columbus, Ohio, police academy, Sessions said a new Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit pilot program would also…
More Than a Third of U.S. Adults Prescribed Opioids in 2015
(Reuters Health)—The U.S. needs to curb excessive opioid prescribing and improve access to pain management techniques, suggests a new government study. Researchers found that more than one third of U.S. adults were prescribed the medications in 2015 and many also misused the drugs. “A very large proportion and large number of adults use these medications…
U.S. Senator Expands Opioid Probe to Distributors, Drugmakers
(Reuters)—U.S. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill on Thursday expanded an investigation into the causes of the opioid crisis plaguing the country, seeking information from four more drugmakers and three drug distributors. The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is focusing on the distribution of opioids and the efforts companies made to…