A lawyer for two Ohio counties said CVS Health Corp., Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Walmart Inc. should fund an $878 million plan to address the opioid crisis there, as a first-of-its-kind trial got underway to determine the pharmacy chains’ contribution.
Washington reached a $518 million settlement with drug distributors McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen Corp. and Cardinal Health, ending a months-long trial over the companies’ alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic in the state, the three companies announced on May 3.
Endo International plc announced that the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed a trial court judge’s order denying a motion for recusal by Endo’s wholly owned subsidiaries Endo Health Solutions Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Clay County et al. v. Purdue Pharma, L.P., et al, pending in the Circuit Court for Cumberland County, Tennessee, and remanded the case for transfer to a different judge.
Fentanyl overdoses are now the top cause of death among U.S. residents ages 18-45, surpassing suicide, car accidents and COVID, according to an analysis of federal data by opioid awareness organization Families Against Fentanyl. To prevent such deaths, FentCheck’s co-founders and a team of volunteers regularly visit a network of businesses in Oakland, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia to replenish stocks of the test strips.
West Virginia’s attorney general on April 4 urged a judge to hold Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and AbbVie Inc.’s Allergen liable for causing a “tsunami” of opioid addiction in the state.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Purdue Pharma’s candidate injectable treatment for partially or completely reversing opioid drug effects.
Shares in Adamis Pharmaceuticals rose 31 percent on Oct. 18 on news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s naloxone injection Zimhi for the treatment of opioid overdose. This was Adamis’ third attempt to have the drug approved, following two CRLs.
Several biopharmaceutical companies submitted New Drug Applications (NDAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in recent weeks, covering treatment indications ranging from an opioid overdose to bipolar disorder and rare disease.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Complete Response Letter for Alkermes’ New Drug Application for ALKS 3831 (olanzapine/samidorphan) for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia and bipolar 1 disorder, and a CRL for Adamis Pharmaceuticals’ NDA for the high-dose naloxone injection product ZIMHI for the treatment of opioid overdose.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp.’s opioid overdose treatment Zimhi, sending the company’s shares plunging 56 percent.
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