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Opioid
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Nevada to get first payment of $50 million from opioid settlements

Apr 15, 2022

Since the start of the pandemic, opioid-related deaths have been on the rise across the state.

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NPR
Health

4 U.S. companies will pay $26 billion to settle claims they fueled the opioid crisis

Feb 25, 2022
The companies, including Johnson & Johnson and McKesson, will admit no wrongdoing. Billions of dollars in payouts will fund drug treatment and harm reduction programs.
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NPR
Business

Sackler family is willing to pay more in Purdue opioids settlement, mediator says

Feb 18, 2022
Under the latest proposal, the Sacklers would contribute between $5.5 billion and $6 billion, an increase from the $4.3 billion they had agreed to earlier.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Shell neurons (green) project to the breathing center and core neurons (red) project to the pain/emotion center. Brain scientists have found the two are linked, shedding new light on opioid overdoses

A brain circuit linking pain and breathing may offer a path to prevent opioid deaths

Dec 22, 2021
Opioids can kill because they reduce breathing along with pain. Now brain scientists have made a discovery that could lead to potent pain drugs that don't affect breathing.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Patients with opioid addiction who show up in a hospital's ER face many barriers to recovery, and so do the doctors trying to help them. Easing those barriers on both sides helps patients get into good follow-up programs that lead to lasting change.

Many ERs Fail People Who Struggle With Addiction. These New Approaches Might Help

Aug 21, 2021
Starting treatment for addiction in the emergency room greatly improves the chances recovery will last, experts say. Cutting red tape, hiring advocates and Uber vouchers can all make a difference.
NPR
National
A pedestrian walks past a mural in Huntington, W.Va., on March 18. Huntington was once ground zero for the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Was It 'Reasonable' To Ship 81 Million Opioid Pills To This Small West Virginia City?

Jul 30, 2021
As a landmark federal opioid trial nears completion, West Virginia communities are demanding $2.5 billion in compensation. Drug firms say they acted responsibly in shipping millions of pills.
NPR
National
While continuing to deny any wrongdoing, Johnson & Johnson will contribute $5 billion over a nine-year span to the $26 billion opioid settlement announced Wednesday.

State Attorneys General Reach A $26 Billion National Opioid Settlement

Jul 21, 2021
Payouts will be spread over the next 18 years, with much of the funding going to help communities struggling with high rates of opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
Jameson Rybak, son of Jim and Suzanne Rybak of Florence, S.C., struggled with opioid addiction and died of an overdose on June 9, 2020 — three months after he left a hospital ER because he feared he couldn't afford treatment.

A Tragic Death Shows How ERs Fail Patients Who Struggle With Addiction

Jul 14, 2021
ER doctors wanted to hospitalize the young man to help ease his withdrawal from opioid dependence. But he declined because he couldn't afford it. His mom says no one told him he had financial options.
NPR
Health
Purdue Pharma faced an avalanche of lawsuits for alleged harm caused by its prescription opioid medicine OxyContin. A controversial bankruptcy deal expected to be finalized next month would block lawsuits against members of the Sackler family who own the

15 States Drop Opposition To Controversial Purdue Pharma Oxycontin Bankruptcy

Jul 07, 2021
Massachusetts and New York are among the states agreeing to end the fight to halt a controversial Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan. The deal shelters members of the Sackler family from opioid lawsuits.
NPR
National
The federal opioid trial involving drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson is taking place in the Robert C. Byrd Courthouse in Charleston, W.Va. The trial is expected to establish whether the drug distributors, accused of failin

Opioid Trial In West Virginia Comes Amid A National Reckoning For Big Pharma

May 26, 2021
Drug distributors have faced embarrassing revelations about their internal practices. One email shared by corporate executives described rural Americans addicted to opioids as "pillbillies."
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NPR
National
David (left) and Kathe Sackler, members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, testified via video to a House Oversight Committee hearing on Dec. 17, 2020. Sackler family members have acknowledged that the drug had a role in the o

24 States Mount Legal Fight To Block Sackler Bid For Opioid Immunity

May 03, 2021
Under a bankruptcy procedure prohibited by courts in part of the country, the Sacklers could be sheltered from opioid lawsuits even without declaring bankruptcy. Some states are crying foul.
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NPR
National
Steve Collis, president and chief executive officer of AmerisourceBergen Corp., testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on May 8, 2018.

As U.S. Corporations Face Reckoning Over Prescription Opioids, CEOs Keep Cashing In

Mar 28, 2021
Companies that sold or distributed opioid medications face huge legal, financial and public relations peril. Critics say shareholders, not CEOs, will pay the price.
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NPR
National
OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. The global business consulting firm McKinsey & Company has agreed to a $573 million settlement over its role in the opioid crisis.

Consulting Giant McKinsey To Settle States' Opioid Claims For $573 Million

Feb 04, 2021
McKinsey is the latest major American corporation to face legal, financial and public relations peril stemming from its role in the nation's deadly opioid epidemic.
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NPR
National

McKinsey Apologizes For Helping Purdue Pharma 'Turbocharge' Opioid Sales

Dec 09, 2020
The corporate consulting giant issued a rare apology for its behind-the-scenes work with Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin. One senator called McKinsey's behavior "abhorrent."
NPR
National
Newly public documents detail the role of members of the Sackler family, owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, during years when the privately owned drug company launched criminal schemes designed to "turbocharge" sales of Oxycontin and other highly a

Critics Want Sacklers To Face Criminal Charges For Role In Opioid Crisis

Nov 25, 2020
A new plea deal with the Justice Department is the second time the family-owned company admitted criminal schemes to boost Oxycontin sales. Despite their hands-on role, the Sacklers face no charges.
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NPR
World

'We Are Shipping To The U.S.': Inside China's Online Synthetic Drug Networks

Nov 17, 2020
China banned fentanyl last year, but an NPR investigation reveals how Chinese vendors continue to market the chemicals used to make the drug on e-commerce and social media sites.
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NPR
National
Researchers point to a devastating new development: Fentanyl is making swift inroads in the western U.S., where it used to be rare.

Street Fentanyl Surges In Western U.S., Leading To Thousands Of Deaths

Nov 17, 2020
New research shows the use of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl spreading fast in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Seattle. Chinese companies are routing the street drug through cartels in Mexico.
NPR
National
President Donald Trump speaks at the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit on April 24, 2019 in Atlanta. President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency.

Opioid Crisis: Critics Say Trump Fumbled Response To Another Deadly Epidemic

Oct 29, 2020
President Trump promised to end America's opioid crisis. On his watch overdose deaths flattened in 2018 then surged again to record levels.
NPR
National
Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., in 2019. Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and its owners, the Sackler family, have faced hundreds of lawsuits over the company's alleged role in the opioid epidemic that has killed more than 200,000 Am

Purdue Pharma Reaches $8B Opioid Deal With Justice Department Over OxyContin Sales

Oct 21, 2020
Critics say the settlement doesn't hold company executives or members of the Sackler family accountable for their aggressive marketing of OxyContin, which helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic.
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NPR
National
The federal government estimates one in 10 healthcare workers experience substance use disorder. There is rising concern that medical professionals are stealing powerful opioid pain medications meant for their patients.

Some Health Workers Suffering From Addiction Steal Drugs Meant For Patients

Oct 05, 2020
The Drug Enforcement Agency relies on hospitals to identify nurses and doctors who misuse drugs such as morphine and fentanyl. But "only a fraction of those who are diverting drugs are ever caught."
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Reno Doctor Faces Up To 20 Years After Guilty Opioid Plea

Mar 03, 2020

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A 51-year-old Nevada doctor faces a maximum of up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to illegally distribute opioids.

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NPR
Law
Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor was convicted in a bribery and kickback scheme that prosecutors said helped fuel the opioid crisis.

Pharmaceutical Executive John Kapoor Sentenced To 66 Months In Prison In Opioid Trial

Jan 23, 2020
His sentencing is the culmination of a months-long criminal trial that resulted in the first successful prosecution of pharmaceutical executives tied to the opioid epidemic.
NPR
National
John Kapoor, founder of Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics, is scheduled to be sentenced this month.

Pharmaceutical Executives Face Prison Time In Case Linked To Opioid Crisis

Jan 13, 2020
John Kapoor, the former billionaire who founded drugmaker Insys Therapeutics, is among the executives to be sentenced for racketeering.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Cardinal Health was one of a handful of corporations to strike a last-minute settlement with two Ohio counties, to avoid the first major trial in the landmark federal litigation effort concerning the opioid health crisis.

Opioid Trial: 4 Companies Reach Tentative Settlement With Ohio Counties

Oct 21, 2019
Four defendants, including three big U.S. distributors, have struck a deal with Summit and Cuyahoga counties. It doesn't resolve thousands of other lawsuits filed against the firms across the U.S.
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NPR
Law
Dr. Joel Smithers was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Wednesday for illegal opioid prescriptions.

Doctor Gets 40 Years For Illegally Prescribing More Than Half A Million Opioid Doses

Oct 02, 2019
Dr. Joel Smithers was convicted in May of more than 800 federal counts of illegal drug distribution. He was facing life in prison and a $200 million fine. The court ordered him to pay $86,000.

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