Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Purdue Pharma Is Cashing In On Both Sides Of The Opioid Epidemic
The Associated Press: Purdue Pharma’s Foreign Affiliate Now Selling Overdose Cure
The gleaming white booth towered over the medical conference in Italy in October, advertising a new brand of antidote for opioid overdoses. “Be prepared. Get naloxone. Save a life,” the slogan on its walls said. Some conference attendees were stunned when they saw the company logo: Mundipharma, the international affiliate of Purdue Pharma — the maker of the blockbuster opioid, OxyContin, widely blamed for unleashing the American overdose epidemic. (Galofaro and Gelineau, 12/15)
Concord Monitor: The $64 Million Question
Since October of 2018, New Hampshire’s governor and Executive Council have approved contracts for more than $64.5 million in federal money to create the Doorway system of referral and treatment for opioid addiction. The state was awarded $45.6 million for 2019 and 2020 in State Opioid Response funding from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and almost $12 million in additional funding for year one. (Solomon, 12/15)
And in another kind of prescription drug crisis —
The New York Times: The Hidden Drug Epidemic Among Older People
While news reports focus on an epidemic of opioid abuse among young adults, another totally legal and usually hidden drug epidemic is occurring at the other end of the age spectrum: the fistfuls of remedies — both prescription and over-the-counter — taken by older adults. According to the American Association of Consultant Pharmacists, people aged 65 to 69 take an average of 15 prescriptions a year, and those aged 80 to 84 take 18 prescriptions a year. (Brody, 12/16)
