STAT+: Pharmalittle: Insurers balk at opioid payouts to drugmakers and wholesalers; AbbVie settles another Humira biosimilar lawsuit
Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing just fine, thank you,…
Category: opioids
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Doctors, companies push to keep looser, pandemic-era rules for prescribing opioid addiction treatment via telemedicine
WASHINGTON — It got a lot easier for patients with opioid addiction to get their…
Sacklers agree to $6 billion Purdue bankruptcy settlement over opioid crisis
The Sackler family members who own Purdue Pharma have agreed to a $6 billion settlement…
STAT+: Supreme Court debates exactly when a doctors’ misprescribing becomes criminal
Supreme Court justices on Tuesday seemed divided over where to draw the line for what…
STAT+: Tennessee judge sanctions Endo for ‘coordinated strategy’ to withhold documents in opioid case
Endo International (ENDP) was sanctioned by a Tennessee state court judge for using a “coordinated…
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STAT+: Johnson & Johnson, three pharma wholesalers finalize $26 billion opioid crisis settlement
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and three major pharmaceutical wholesalers have finalized nationwide settlements over their…
Opinion: Opioid overdoses are killing Americans. Improving access to methadone can save lives
The United States recently reached a grim milestone: 100,000 overdose deaths in one year. This…
New York jury holds Teva Pharmaceuticals liable in opioid crisis
A jury held Teva Pharmaceuticals responsible Thursday for contributing to the opioid crisis, delivering a…
Opinion: Inflexible methadone regulations impede America’s efforts to reduce overdose deaths
Imagine if people who needed insulin to control their diabetes had to trek across town…
Opinion: Justice for Sackler family members, not immunity
Your neighbor’s kid is still sitting in jail for selling heroin — to people who…
STAT+: Judge reverses $4.5 billion Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement
A federal court judge has reversed the hotly contested Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan after deciding…
How much naloxone is needed to reverse an opioid overdose? New high-dose treatments are raising questions
At a time when a record number of Americans have died from drug overdoses —…
Califf sails through confirmation hearing for FDA job, despite tensions over opioids
WASHINGTON — Robert Califf escaped largely unscathed from a two-hour hearing Tuesday vetting him to…
STAT+: AbbVie unit to pay $200 million to resolve closely watched opioid lawsuit in New York
Allergan, which is a unit of AbbVie (ABBV) agreed to pay up to $200 million…
States: Sackler family members abusing bankruptcy process
NEW YORK — A federal judge should reject a sweeping settlement to thousands of lawsuits…
Jury holds pharmacies responsible for role in opioid crisis
CLEVELAND — Three retail pharmacy chains recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two…
Her husband died by suicide. She sued his pain doctors — a rare challenge over an opioid dose reduction
For six years, Brent Slone had relied on opioid medication to tame his agonizing pain…
STAT+: Can local governments convince the courts that opioid makers and wholesalers caused a public nuisance?
Earlier this week, the state of Washington went to trial relying on a controversial legal…
U.S. overdose deaths topped 100,000 in one year, officials say
NEW YORK — An estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, a…
STAT+: Company that sold overdose antidote to pay $12.7 million to settle charges of fraudulent scheme
Kaleo, a small and controversial company, agreed to pay $12.7 million to resolve allegations that…
STAT+: Oklahoma court overturns $465 million opioid verdict against Johnson & Johnson
The Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned a $465 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) in…
STAT+: In a first, a California judge rules drug makers are not liable for the opioid crisis
For the first time, drug makers won a court victory in the massive litigation over…
STAT+: The Purdue bankruptcy plan was approved to distribute billions. Where is the money?
Nearly two months ago, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge approved a controversial Purdue Pharma plan…
Opinion: A new index measures the extent and depth of addiction stigma
“I finally build up the courage to tell the doctor I need help. Staring at…
STAT+: Is Robert Califf a savvy choice to helm the FDA — again?
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has been without a permanent leader for 10…
STAT+: Prosecutors allege two individuals preyed on those searching for addiction recovery help
Two men were indicted this week for allegedly running a scam in which they preyed…
STAT+: As lawsuits mounted, Purdue cultivated conversations with a controversial addiction policy group
Over several months in 2017, a top Purdue Pharma executive and the head of the…
Opinion: Overdose prevention sites can save lives and promote recovery. We must be willing to try them
The latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are simply staggering:…
Opinion: Start now to prevent the next Purdue Pharma debacle
The judgment finalizing the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case is a likely bitter end to litigation…
The Purdue bankruptcy plan was approved. Will it get derailed by appeals?
A bankruptcy court has approved a settlement to funnel billions of dollars to pay for…
Purdue bankruptcy settlement leaves families angry, conflicted
Among the families who lost children and other loved ones in the nation’s opioid crisis,…
Judge approves Purdue’s controversial bankruptcy plan, paving the way for immunity for Sacklers
After two years of contentious bargaining, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge on Wednesday approved a…
Opinion: FDA’s kratom ban would harm the public and damage the agency’s credibility
Trust in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined after its approval of the…
STAT+: David Sackler acknowledges ‘moral responsibility’ to address opioid crisis, but refuses to pay settlement without immunity
Amid a contentious bankruptcy court trial, a member of the Sackler family that owns Purdue…
Opinion: Medically, legally, and morally, emergency departments cannot ignore addiction care
“My son Michael asked for help with his addiction to heroin,” a mother wrote in…
Opinion: Harm-reduction programs acknowledge the difference between ‘do no harm’ and ‘protect from harm’
Brian, a patient at my clinic in Scott County, Ind., is one of many who…
Opinion: With the tobacco settlement, the U.S. missed its moment to fortify public health. We can’t make that mistake with the opioid settlement
States, counties, cities, and tribes have brought thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold players in…
Opinion: Punishing drug use heightens the stigma of addiction
Our understanding of substance use disorders as chronic but treatable health conditions has come a…
Overdose data, often scattered and siloed, pose challenges for researchers racing to predict risk
As fatal overdoses once again rise — accounting for 92,183 deaths in 2020, a 30%…
States could get billions from opioid lawsuits. They have to decide how to spend it
The endgame of the sprawling mass of opioid lawsuits is starting to come into focus:…
Opinion: Listen: A journalist on what the Vietnam War taught us about addiction
In this week’s episode of the “First Opinion Podcast,” science journalist and author Lauren Aguirre…
STAT+: Purdue says most creditors voted in favor of contentious bankruptcy plan
In an apparent victory for Purdue Pharma, preliminary voting shows most creditors are in favor…
In the same health system, Black patients are prescribed fewer opioids than white patients
Inequities in health care are pervasive, from access to quality of care, and a new…
States reach $26 billion deal with three wholesalers and J&J to end opioid lawsuits
Three of the largest pharmaceutical wholesalers and a major drug maker reached a $26 billion…
STAT+: Three pharma wholesalers reach a $1.1 billion deal with New York over the opioid crisis
Three of the largest pharmaceutical wholesalers in the U.S. agreed to pay up to $1.1…
STAT+: As a key hearing nears, Justice Department calls Purdue’s bankruptcy plan unconstitutional
In harsh words, the U.S. Department of Justice castigated Purdue Pharma’s proposed bankruptcy plan as…
Opinion: Lessons learned — and lost — from a Vietnam-era study of addiction
Opioids like heroin, morphine, OxyContin, and fentanyl occupy a spot in the public imagination as…
STAT+: Amid Purdue bankruptcy talks, Connecticut attorney general accuses some Sacklers of intimidation
In the latest drama surrounding Purdue Pharma, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong lashed out at…
U.S. overdose deaths hit record 93,000 in 2020 during pandemic
NEW YORK — Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst…
Biden to nominate West Virginia’s Rahul Gupta as drug czar
WASHINGTON — President Biden will nominate Rahul Gupta, a March of Dimes executive and former…