Five opioid manufacturers including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP have paid more than $10 million to advocacy groups and doctors tied to them, many of whom amplified industry messages supporting the use of the painkillers, a US Senate report said on Monday.
The report, released by Democratic senator Claire McCaskill, said groups who received the donations aligned themselves with industry goals and may have played a role in an epidemic that led to 42,000 opioid overdose deaths in 2016.
The report released by McCaskill, the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s ranking Democrat, said the groups issued guidance promoting opioids for chronic pain and lobbied against laws to curb their use.
“These financial relationships were insidious, lacked transparency, and are one of many factors that have resulted in arguably the most deadly drug epidemic in American history,” McCaskill, of Missouri, said in a statement.
Purdue Pharma, which on Saturday announced it would stop promoting opioids to doctors, was the biggest donor. It gave $4.15 million to 12 groups from 2012 to 2017, the report said.
The groups include patient advocacy organisations and medical professional societies.
One recipient was the Academy of Integrative Pain Management (AIPM), which partnered with another group to lobby state legislatures on opioid-related issues and fight efforts to restrict opioid prescribing, the report said.
Purdue said in a statement that it supported organisations interested in helping patients receive appropriate care. AIPM executive director Bob Twillman said that financial contributions had not influenced its positions.
The report said Insys Therapeutics Inc, which markets the fentanyl-based cancer pain drug Subsys, gave $3.15 million to US Pain Foundation and others, ranking no. 2 in donations to the 14 groups examined.
Federal prosecutors have accused several former Insys executives and employees, including billionaire Insys founder John Kapoor, of engaging in a scheme to pay kickbacks to doctors to prescribe Subsys. Kapoor has pleaded not guilty.
US Pain Foundation said the $2.5 million Insys donated in 2017 was for a fund to help cancer patients pay for pain drugs, and that the money did not influence its values. Insys said it strives to follow regulations.
The report said the groups also received $1.07 million from Depomed Inc, $465,142 from Johnson & Johnson and $20,250 from Mylan NV.
Doctors affiliated with the organisations received $1.6 million, the report said.
Depomed said its contributions amounted to on average just about $20,000 a year for nine groups and said it believed it acted responsibly in marketing its drugs. J&J said it co-operated with McCaskill. Mylan emphasised its small opioid marketshare. #KhabarLive
I simply want to mention I’m all new to blogs and honestly enjoyed your blog. More than likely I’m planning to bookmark your blog post . You really have good articles and reviews. Thanks a bunch for sharing your webpage.
MetroClick specializes in building completely interactive products like Photo Booth for rental or sale, Touch Screen Kiosks, Large Touch Screen Displays , Monitors, Digital Signages and experiences. With our own hardware production facility and in-house software development teams, we are able to achieve the highest level of customization and versatility for Photo Booths, Touch Screen Kiosks, Touch Screen Monitors and Digital Signage. Visit MetroClick at http://www.metroclick.com/ or , 121 Varick St, New York, NY 10013, +1 646-843-0888
Good morning there, just turned out to be receptive to your webpage through Yahoo and bing, and have found that it is very interesting. I’ll truly appreciate should you persist such.
Hiya there, just turned mindful of your writings through Bing, and discovered that it’s truly good. I’ll appreciate should you decide keep up this.
Today, I went to the beach with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone!
My partner and I stumbled over here by a different website and thought I might as well check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to exploring your web page for a second time.
Hi there I am so happy I found your web site, I really found you by accident, while I was searching on Yahoo for something else, Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say thank you for a marvelous post and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to go through it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the great work.
Does your website have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an email. I’ve got some suggestions for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.
Comments are closed.