In return for the shield, the billionaire owners of Purdue Pharma are committed to paying up to $6 billion to help compensate communities and individuals for the ravages of the opioid epidemic.
Category: Opioids and Opiates
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Sacklers Can Be Shielded From Opioid Liability, Appeals Court Rules
The decision gives the Purdue Pharma owners long-sought protection, but it will release billions of dollars from their fortune to states and communities to help cope with the costs of addiction.
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Addiction Treatment Medicine Is Vastly Underprescribed, Especially by Race, Study Finds
Black patients with opioid use disorder were far less likely to fill prescriptions for the most effective addiction treatments than white patients. But strikingly few patients of all races got the medicine.
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National Academies Members Demand Answers About Sacklers’ Donations
The Academies accepted millions of dollars from members of the Sackler family — including some who led Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContin — even while advising federal officials on opioid policy.
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Sacklers Gave Millions to Institution That Advises on Opioid Policy
Even as the nation’s drug crisis mounted, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine continued to accept funds from some members of the Sackler family, including those involved with Purdue Pharma.
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The Fight Over a Drug That Is Great for Horses but Horrific for Humans
Drug dealers are mixing xylazine, an animal tranquilizer relied on by veterinarians, into fentanyl, with deadly results. But controlling it is tricky.
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F.D.A. Approves Narcan for Over-the-Counter Sales
The New York Times – Business:The nasal spray reverses opioid overdoses and public health officials hope that making it more widely available could save lives and reduce the nation’s high rates of drug fatalities.
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Over-the-Counter Narcan Could Save More Lives. But Price and Stigma Are Obstacles
The New York Times – Business:The Food and Drug Administration is expected this week to allow the overdose-reversal medication to be sold without a prescription, a step toward making it a common emergency tool.
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How an Opioid Settlement Hinders Patients’ Access to ADHD Medication and Other Drugs
The New York Times – Business:An agreement between attorneys general and major drug distributors increased scrutiny on medications for A.D.H.D., addiction, anxiety and pain.
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Opioid Distributors Cleared of Liability to Georgia Families Ravaged by Addiction
The New York Times – Business:The case illustrates the enormous challenges that victims of the opioid crisis have had in getting compensation from the pharmaceutical industry, despite its pledge of billions of dollars to state and local governments.
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Narcan Is Safe to Sell Over the Counter, Advisers to the FDA Conclude
The New York Times – Business:The overdose reversal drug has been administered mostly by emergency responders and outreach workers. If the agency approves a nonprescription version, it could become as easily available as aspirin.
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Justice Dept. Sues AmerisourceBergen Over Role in Opioid Crisis
The New York Times – Business:Investigators said the pharmaceutical manufacturer, one of the nation’s largest, had knowingly distributed opioids that were later resold illegally.