Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Just How Deep Are Sackler Family's Pockets? With Offshore Financial Maneuverings It's Hard To Tell
The Associated Press: Where Did The Sacklers Move Cash From Their Opioid Maker?
Ninety minutes outside London, a turn down a narrow lane leads past fields of grazing cattle to a sign warning “Private Keep Off.” Around an elbow bend, a great stone manor, its formal gardens and tennis court hidden behind thick hedges, commands a 5,000-acre estate. The estate is a pastoral prize — proof of the great wealth belonging to the family accused of playing a key role in triggering the U.S. opioid epidemic. But there’s little evidence of that connection. On paper, the land is owned by a handful of companies, most based in distant Bermuda, all controlled by an offshore trust. (Geller, 8/30)
The Wall Street Journal: Proposed Opioid Deal With Purdue Drawing Pushback From States
A proposed deal for Purdue Pharma LP to resolve more than 2,000 lawsuits over its role in the opioid crisis is facing pushback from a vocal group of state attorneys general who say it doesn’t bring in enough cash to satisfy their demands, according to people familiar with the matter. Virtually every state, in addition to thousands of cities and counties across the U.S., sued Purdue, claiming the company’s aggressive promotion of its painkiller OxyContin helped trigger an addiction epidemic. (Hopkins and Randazzo, 8/29)
The Associated Press: Opioid Settlement Would Divide Money Based On Local Impact
The multibillion-dollar settlement that the maker of OxyContin is negotiating to settle a crush of lawsuits over the nation's opioid crisis contains formulas for dividing up the money among state and local governments across the country, The Associated Press has learned. The formulas would take into account several factors, including opioid distribution in a given jurisdiction, the number of people who misuse opioids and the number of overdose deaths. (8/29)
The Washington Post: Feds: Drug Ring Had Enough Cheap Fentanyl To Kill 14 Million
Law enforcement officials in Virginia said Thursday that they’ve taken down a multi-state drug ring and seized enough cheap fentanyl from China to kill 14 million people. The bust was announced in the wake of growing efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl from Chinese labs to the United States. The synthetic opioid often comes through the mail or across the Mexico border. It can be stronger and more lethal than heroin and is responsible for tens of thousands of American drug deaths each year. (Finley, 8/29)
The Hill: Dozens Charged In Opioid Network Accused Of Distributing 23 Million Pills
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 41 people in nine indictments for their alleged involvement in “pill mill” clinics and pharmacies that have distributed more than 23 million oxycodone, hydrocodone and carisoprodol pills across the country, according to a statement from the DOJ. The alleged trafficking network was composed of medical providers, clinic owners, pharmacists, drug dealers and traffickers, who have been apprehended and shut down by the government, and who allegedly knew "the prescriptions had no legitimate medical purpose and were outside the usual course of professional practice." (Pitofsky, 8/29)
