What Does An Opioid Crisis Look Like? More Than 100 Billion Pain Pills Shipped Through U.S. During 8-Year Span
A legal battle for information waged by The Washington Post and the company that owns the Charleston Gazette-Mail reveals the sheer scope of the opioid crisis in the country. “In excess of 100 billion pills is simply jaw-dropping,” said Peter J. Mougey, a lawyer who helped the newspapers obtain the data. The newly released data, which traces the path of pills from manufacturers and distributors to pharmacies across the country, confirms again that six companies distributed the vast majority of the pain pills.
The Washington Post:
More Than 100 Billion Pain Pills Saturated The Nation Over Nine Years
Newly disclosed federal drug data shows that more than 100 billion doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone were shipped nationwide from 2006 through 2014 — 24 billion more doses of the highly addictive pain pills than previously known to the public. The data, which traces the path of every pain pill shipped in the United States, shows the extent to which opioids flooded the country as deaths from the epidemic continued to climb over nine years. The Washington Post and the company that owns the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia first obtained the data, collected by the Drug Enforcement Administration, from 2006 through 2012 after waging a year-long legal fight. (Rich, Higham and Horwitz, 1/14)
The Hill:
House GOP Reopens Investigation Into Opioid Manufacturers Over Role In Crisis
The top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee is reopening an investigation into three drug companies that make opioids over their role in the epidemic of overdose deaths. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), along with Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), sent letters on Tuesday to the companies with new questions about whether they could have done more earlier to stem the tide of opioid-related deaths. (Sullivan, 1/14)
In other news on the opioid crisis —
CNN:
Pharmaceutical Distributor Embroiled In Criminal Charges Ceases Opioid Sales
A New York-based wholesale pharmaceutical distributor has announced it will no longer distribute opioid medications, almost nine months after two of its former executives were charged with illegally distributing opioids and conspiring to defraud the US Drug Enforcement Administration. "The ever-increasing expenses associated with the legal and regulatory compliance for this segment of drugs are simply not sustainable," Rochester Drug Co-Operative (RDC) said in a statement released by the company spokesman, Jeff Eller. "While these specific drugs represent a relatively small percent of total sales, they account for significant legal and compliance expenses." (Moghe, McDonnell Nieto del Rio, 1/14)
Reuters:
Nektar Withdraws Application For Opioid Painkiller After FDA Panel's Vote
Nektar Therapeutics said on Tuesday it was withdrawing the application for its opioid painkiller for adults with chronic low back pain, after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel unanimously voted against the drug’s approval. Independent advisers to the U.S. FDA voted 27-0 against the approval of the oral pill, NKTR-181, on concerns over the chances of its misuse or abuse as well as the lack of data to determine the possible abuse when snorted or injected and its potential for liver toxicity. (Joseph and Chander, 1/14)
The Associated Press:
Amid Doc's Murder Case, Lawsuits Reflect Battle Over Blame
In the year since an Ohio hospital system announced an intensive care doctor had ordered excessive painkillers for dozens of patients who then died, the allegations led to murder charges against him, lawsuits, firings and potential disciplinary action for some of his colleagues. As the criminal case moves toward possible trial this year, related pending lawsuits reflect a battle over blame. A look at where things stand. (Franko, 1/14)
