Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Drug Firms Must Face Trial Over Opioids, Judge Orders
Sep 4 2019 // A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected efforts by major drugmakers, pharmacies and distributors to dismiss claims that they caused the nation’s opioid crisis, clearing the way for a scheduled landmark trial even as he...
Report Examines First-Year Impact of California’s New Drug Formulary
Sep 3 2019 // A new report shows that an evidence-based drug formulary put into effect by the California Division of Workers’ Compensation over a year ago may be working. The formulary went into effect Jan. 1, 2018. It was...
Federal Officials Issue Health Warning on Marijuana Use by Teens, Pregnant Women
Sep 3 2019 // Federal health officials issued a national warning Thursday against marijuana use by adolescents and pregnant women, as more states legalize the increasingly potent drug for medicinal and recreational use. Health and Human...
Purdue Pharma Floats $10-$12 Billion Opioid Settlement: Reuters
Aug 28 2019 // OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, the Sackler family, are in discussion to settle more than 2,000 opioid lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion, two people familiar with the matter said...
Opioid Epidemic Could Threaten Europe Too: Viewpoint
Aug 28 2019 // As drugmakers are being held responsible for fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, it might look at though they have nothing to fear in Europe, where, it’s often assumed, opioid misuse isn’t so rampant. The...
Captain of Ferry that Ran Aground in Boston Harbor Off Job Pending Drug Test
Aug 23 2019 // The captain of a commuter ferry that ran aground in Boston Harbor has been placed on leave pending drug test results. The Boston Globe reported Saturday that the captain was taken off the job pending the test, which is...
New Jersey Woman Gets Two Years in Compound Drug Fraud Scheme
Aug 22 2019 // A New Jersey woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in a widespread fraud scheme involving public employees and compound prescription drugs. Kristie Masucci appeared before a judge in Camden on...
China Expands List of Drugs Covered by Basic Medical Insurance
Aug 22 2019 // China on Tuesday added 148 drugs to its list of medicines covered by basic medical insurance schemes, part of a push to lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs in one of the world’s largest drug markets, state...
Drug Maker Endo Skirts Trial, Settles Its Opioid Claims for $11 Million
Aug 21 2019 // Endo International Plc agreed to an $11 million settlement to avoid going to trial in the first federal court cases targeting opioid makers and distributors over the public-health crisis caused by the painkillers. Endo...
Overdose Deaths Again Rise More in Urban Than Rural Communities
Aug 14 2019 // U.S. drug overdose deaths had been most common in Appalachia and other rural areas in recent years, but they are back to being more concentrated in big cities, according to a government report Friday. The Centers for...
Judge Leans in Favor of Broad Opioid Settlement Opposed by Municipalities, Drug Firms
Aug 7 2019 // A federal judge on Tuesday expressed support for a novel plan by lawyers representing cities and counties suing drug companies over the U.S. opioid epidemic that would bring every community nationally into their settlement...
State’s Purdue Opioid Suit Tests Holding Family, Purdue Directors Liable for Crisis
Aug 5 2019 // Massachusetts took Purdue Pharma LP to task in a Boston courtroom Friday, blaming the opioid maker and the billionaire Sackler family that owns it for causing “thousands of people to suffer and many to...
Arizona Seeking U.S. Supreme Court Involvement in Opioid Case
Aug 2 2019 // Arizona’s attorney general on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to force the Sackler family, which owns OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma, to return billions of dollars they took out of the company. The court filing...
Fewer Injured Workers Receiving Opioids Under Workers’ Compensation But States Vary
Aug 2 2019 // Fewer injured workers are receiving opioids to treat pain than in previous years, as medical providers are turning more to non-opioid medications and physical therapies. A new study of injured worker claims from 27 states...
State, Local Governments Debate How to Best Allocate Any Opioid Settlement Funds
Aug 2 2019 // The roughly 2,000 state and local governments suing the drug industry over the deadly opioid crisis have yet to see any verdicts or reach any big national settlements but are already tussling with each other over how to...
Key Finance Committee Senators Unveil Bipartisan Drug Price Bill
Jul 24 2019 // The top Republican and Democrat on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee announced a proposal to lower prescription drug prices on Tuesday that could save $100 billion in costs to government healthcare programs, and said the...
Kentucky Drug Overdose Deaths Decrease for First Time in 5 Years
Jul 23 2019 // After years of rising death tolls from a surge in drug addiction, Kentucky officials on Thursday reported the first statewide drop in drug overdose deaths since 2013. A new report indicated that 1,333 people died from drug...
U.S. Criminally Charges Ohio Opioid Distributor with Profiting from Epidemic
Jul 22 2019 // An Ohio drug wholesale distributor and two former executives on Thursday were charged with profiting from the U.S. opioid epidemic by selling millions of pills despite signs the addictive drugs were being misused. Federal...
Report: Florida Pill Mills Helped Fuel Opioid Crisis
Jul 22 2019 // Florida survives on tourism, but a decade ago thousands of visitors made frequent trips to the state not to visit its theme parks or beaches. Instead, they came for cheap and easy prescription painkillers sold at...
Arizona Suit Names Former Opioid Manufacturer Executives
Jul 19 2019 // Arizona’s top attorney is accusing former opioid manufacturer executives of trying to sell a prescription drug through unethical means. Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that his office filed a consumer fraud...
