McCaskill Opens Investigation into Opioid Manufacturers

Senator Claire McCaskill, Ranking Member of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has launched a wide-ranging investigation into the business practices of the manufacturers of America’s top five prescription opioid products (based on 2015 sales). The investigation is slated to explore whether pharmaceutical manufacturers have contributed to the opioid epidemic with which America is currently dealing. Senator McCaskill sent letters to Purdue, Janssen (parent company: Johnson & Johnson), Insys, Mylan, and Depomed, asking for information related to the sale, marketing, and education strategies these companies have used to promote opioids. She is asking for information, including: Documents showing any internal estimates of the risk of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose, diversion or death arising from the use of any opioid product or any estimates of these risks produced by third-party contractors or vendors; Any reports generated within the last five years summarizing or concerning compliance audits of sales and marketing policies; Marketing and business plans, including plans for direct-to-consumer and physician marketing, developed during the last five years; Quotas for sales representatives dedicated to opioid products concerning the recruitment of physicians for speaker programs during the last five years; Contributions to a variety of third party advocacy organizations; and Any reports issued to government agencies during the l...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs