Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drugmakers Were Set To Team Up With NIH On Massive Opioid Study But Officials Are Pumping The Brakes
Stat: NIH Shifts Course On Industry Opioids Partnership After Ethics Flags Raised
It’s been touted by health officials for almost a year: a planned opioids research partnership worth roughly $400 million. Ideally, the National Institutes of Health and the pharmaceutical industry would each pick up half the tab, NIH Director Francis Collins has said, to fund research aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic. Collins reiterated last month: Dozens of drug companies were on the verge of teaming up with the agency, which researchers hope will lead to the discovery of new medicines to treat addiction or serve as alternatives to opioids. (Facher, 4/19)
USA Today: Surgeon General, Public Health Corps Fights Opioids -- In Dress Blues
They get mistaken for military officers. But they can rightly accept the praise when strangers say, "Thank you for your service." They're the U.S. Public Health Service's Commissioned Corps, a 6,500-strong group of pharmacists, engineers, dentists and others with a broad range of health expertise and a common desire to serve their country, especially the most vulnerable. (O'Donnell, 4/17)
Kaiser Health News: Nation’s Top Doc Wants The Overdose Antidote Widely On Hand. Is That Feasible?
When Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory calling for more people to carry naloxone — not just people at overdose risk, but also friends and family — experts and advocates were almost giddy. This is an “unequivocally positive” step forward, said Leo Beletsky, an associate professor of law and health sciences at Northeastern University.And not necessarily a surprise. Adams, who previously was Indiana’s health commissioner, was recruited to be the nation’s top doctor in part because of his work with then-Gov. Mike Pence, now the vice president. (Luthra and Bluth, 4/18)
Reuters: Kentucky Accuses J&J Of Contributing To Opioid Epidemic
Kentucky's attorney general on Wednesday sued Johnson & Johnson, accusing the pharmaceutical manufacturer of devising a deceptive marketing scheme that mischaracterized the risk of opioid abuse and addiction. The lawsuit by Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear was his fifth to date seeking to hold a drug manufacturer or distributor responsible for its role in the national opioid epidemic. (Raymond, 4/18)
Minnesota Public Radio: Lawmakers Call On Big Pharma To Pay Up In Fight Against Opioid Abuse
Even as prospects dim for a bill to charge pharmaceutical companies a fee for every opioid they sell in the state of Minnesota, supporters of the proposal remain defiant. There are signs that the issue of opioids may become a campaign issue this November. (Collins, 4/18)
Miami Herald: Miami Sues Opioid Makers, Distributors For False Marketing
Miami officials filed the civil lawsuit in Miami-Dade County on Monday, alleging deception and false marketing by a number of manufacturers and distributors of prescription painkillers, including Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Walgreens. The lawsuit alleges the companies created a public nuisance by falsely marketing opioids and unlawfully supplying them in Miami, unjustly enriching them at the expense of the city and its residents. (Chang, 4/18)
KQED: San Francisco's Newest Tool To Prevent Opioid Overdoses Tests Drugs, Starts Conversations
While California has made some positive strides in the fight against opioids (the latest data show that prescriptions in the state are down), deaths from one particularly powerful opioid, fentanyl, are up. As this opioid increasingly shows up in street drugs, California is fighting back with a new tool: easy-to-use test strips that can detect the presence of fentanyl in other drugs or substances. (Klivans, 4/18)
