Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Purdue Pharma Had Hand In Orchestrating WHO's 'Dangerously Misleading' Opioid Guidelines, Lawmakers Say
The Washington Post: Congressional Report: Purdue Pharma Influenced World Health Organization’s Opioid Guidelines
A new congressional report claims that the World Health Organization’s guidelines on treating pain were directly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, including a set of directions for prescribing powerful painkillers that appear to have been taken from opioid giant Purdue Pharma. The investigation, from the offices of Reps. Katherine M. Clark (D-Mass.) and Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), points to evidence that pharmaceutical companies and those who profited from the increased prescribing of opioids aimed to push the WHO into endorsing use of the drugs across the globe. The WHO provides health guidance worldwide. (Zezima, 5/22)
The Associated Press: US Lawmakers Demand UN Health Agency Change Opioid Guidance
The members of Congress say a 2011 manual and 2012 guidelines on opioids were influenced by people with financial connections to Purdue Pharma, the company that makes the powerful opioid painkiller OxyContin. “We have come to believe that Purdue has leveraged its financial ties to successfully impact the content of the WHO’s guidelines,” Reps. Katherine Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican, say in a letter to the health arm of the United Nations. “As a result, the WHO is, in effect, promoting the chronic use of opioids.” (Mulvihill, 5/22)
Stat: Lawmakers Contend WHO Pain Treatment Guidelines Are Really Purdue ‘Marketing Materials’
Moreover, the guidelines contradict research concerning the extent to which opioid addiction occurs, according to the report. Consequently, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Rep. Hal Rogers (R.-Ky.) argued that the “problem the WHO seems to be addressing is not how to limit the use of these highly addictive drugs, but rather how to eliminate barriers to their use.” (Silverman, 5/22)
