Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sackler Family Shifted Billions Of Dollars From Purdue Into Trusts, Overseas Accounts As Opioid Crisis Intensified
The New York Times: Purdue Pharma Payments To Sackler Family Soared Amid Opioid Crisis
As scrutiny of Purdue Pharma’s role in the opioid epidemic intensified during the past dozen years, its owners, members of the Sackler family, withdrew more than $10 billion from the company, distributing it among trusts and overseas holding companies, according to a new audit commissioned by Purdue. The amount is more than eight times what the family took out of the company in the 13 years after OxyContin, its signature product, was approved in 1995. The audit is likely to renew questions about how much the Sacklers should pay to resolve more than 2,800 lawsuits that seek to hold Purdue accountable for the opioid crisis. (Hoffman and Hakim, 12/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Purdue Paid Out $10.4 Billion To Sacklers As Opioid Crisis Grew, Report Finds
While the audit offers new insight into Purdue’s operations and profitability, the report doesn’t shed light on how wealthy the Sacklers are today, or the location of family members’ assets. The Sacklers have offered to return $3 billion in cash and surrender ownership of Purdue to resolve lawsuits by states, counties, cities and Native American tribes that accuse the company of hiding OxyContin’s addictive risks and contributing to the opioid epidemic. (Scurria, 12/16)
The Washington Post: The Sackler Family Transfered $1.36 Billion In Purdue Pharma Profits Overseas, Company Says
A central question in the proceedings is what happened to the many billions taken out of the company by the Sacklers, who controlled the company for years. One set of overseas cash transfers of $312 million came in 2017, the same year states and counties began filing lawsuits against the company, accusing it of stoking America’s opioid epidemic with misleading marketing, according to the report. But the money was subsequently characterized as a loan and paid back to Purdue, the report said. (Rowland, 12/16)
Stat: Purdue, Maker Of OxyContin, Quietly Splits Ways With PhRMA
Purdue Pharma, the embattled opioid maker, has quietly split ways with PhRMA, the powerful lobbying organization charged with representing the drug industry in Washington. The break is the latest demonstration that the drug maker, which has filed for bankruptcy and is inundated by lawsuits across the country for its role in marketing OxyContin, is retreating from attempts to influence federal drug policy or restore its reputation. (Florko, 12/17)
In more news on the crisis —
CNN: Hospital Costs For Treating Newborns In Opioid Withdrawal Jumped To $572.7 Million
The cost of treatment for infants in US hospitals who had been exposed to opioids rose by more than $250 million over four years, according to a study published Monday. In 2012, total hospital costs to treat neonatal abstinence syndrome were $316 million. By 2016, according to the study published in the Journal of the America Medical Association Pediatrics, that number was up to $572.7 million. (Holcombe and Erdman, 12/17)
New Hampshire Union Leader: Shaheen Secures Drug Grant Flexibility In Budget Bill
Substance abuse treatment providers in New Hampshire, with the help of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, got their top wish granted in an omnibus federal spending bill: more flexibility in how they can spend federal grant dollars. The global compromise bill to finance all of the federal government through next September includes this provision that for the first time will allow providers to use state opioid response (SOR) grants for clients who have become addicted to methamphetamine or cocaine. (Landrigan, 12/16)
