opioid epidemic News

Opioid Trial Winds Down; Insys Execs Deny Bribing Doctors, Duping Insurers

A U.S. prosecutor portrayed Insys Therapeutics Inc. founder John Kapoor and other former executives as greedy and heartless during closing arguments in their racketeering trial over the promotion of the opioid painkiller Subsys. Kapoor and four other ex-Insys managers “exploited” …

Purdue’s Sackler Family Asks Judge to Toss Massachusetts Opioid Case

Members of the Sackler family behind OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP have asked a judge to toss a lawsuit by Massachusetts’ attorney general claiming they helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic, arguing it contains “misleading and inflammatory allegations.” The wealthy …

Vermont Sues Two Prescription Opioid Distributors

Vermont filed a lawsuit against two pharmaceutical distributors, accusing them of selling ever-increasing amounts of prescription opioids in the state while failing to effectively monitor and control the sales and acknowledge the quantity of pills was outpacing the need. The …

Jurors Told How Insys Chief Used Competitors’ Data to Drive Own Opioid Sales

Insys Therapeutics Inc. founder John Kapoor didn’t cut corners when it came to collecting intelligence on opioid sales, using the data to beat down his employees and to spur doctors to prescribe more of his highly addictive painkiller, a Boston …

How High-Pressure Insys Prescription Call Center Lied to Insurers to Sell Opioids

The goal for Insys Therapeutics Inc.’s call center in Phoenix was simple: persuade insurers to authorize at least 70 prescriptions a week of its expensive opioid spray. Workers would get bonuses for surpassing the goals, a former call center manager …

U.S. Making Some Progress Against Opioid Epidemic, Says Health Chief

The number of U.S. drug overdose deaths has begun to level off after years of relentless increases driven by the opioid epidemic, health secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday, cautioning it’s too soon to declare victory. “We are so far from …

Major Surgery Patients Without Opioids Have Shorter Hospital Stays: Research

Surgeons at an Ohio hospital have developed a treatment protocol that they say sends people home after operations without any opioids to manage their pain, leading to shorter hospital stays. “Over 75 percent of our elective colorectal patients underwent surgery …

New Hampshire Insurance Company Trains Workers on Overdose Reversal Drug

Employees at one of New Hampshire’s community mental health centers are getting trained to administer overdose reversal drugs. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care on Friday held a training session for employees at Riverbend Community Mental Health in Concord as part of …

Workers Overdose On the Job and Employers Struggle to Respond

PORTLAND, Ore. — Jimmy Sullivan prepared for his job as a bricklayer the same way every morning for years: injecting a shot of heroin before leaving his car. The first time he overdosed on the job, in 2013 at a …

President Trump Urges U.S. Suit Against Opioid Manufacturers

President Donald Trump said Thursday he wants the U.S. government to sue pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids as part of his efforts to halt an epidemic of drug addiction. Trump said he’d like to bring a federal lawsuit, rather than …