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U.S. NEWS Thursday 6 sepTember 2018

Major opioid maker to pay for

overdose-antidote development

By GEOFF MULVIHILL number of lawsuits against Americans last year, about
Associated Press the industry being overseen 10 percent more than in
A company whose pre- by a federal judge topped 2016. The majority of the
scription opioid market- 1,000. deaths involved opioids.
ing practices are being The Cleveland-based But a growing number of
blamed for sparking the ad- judge, Dan Polster, is push- them are from illicit synthet-
diction and overdose crisis ing the industry to settle ic drugs, including fentanyl,
says it’s helping to fund an with the plaintiffs — mostly rather than prescription
effort to make a lower-cost local governments and Na- opioids such as OxyContin
overdose antidote. tive American tribes — and or Vicodin. Governments
OxyContin maker Pur- with state governments, are asking for changes in This May 8, 2007 file photo shows the Purdue Pharma offices in
due Pharma announced most of which have sued how opioids are marketed, Stamford, Conn. Associated Press
Wednesday that it’s mak- in state court or are con- and for help paying for doctors. motives.
ing a $3.4 million grant to ducting a joint investiga- treatment and the costs of The naloxone grant is a way “I think it’s just a strategic
Harm Reduction Therapeu- tion. Hundreds of other lo- ambulance runs, child wel- the company can show it’s move on their part to curry
tics, a Pittsburgh-based cal governments are also fare systems, jails and other trying to help stem the dam- favor with the judge, and
nonprofit, to help develop suing in state courts across expenses associated with age done by opioids. “This the public,” he said.
a low-cost naloxone nasal the country. the opioid crisis. grant is one example of the Naloxone is seen as one
spray. The sides have had regular Purdue agreed to pay $634 meaningful steps Purdue is major piece in overdose
The announcement comes settlement discussions, but million in fines back in 2007 taking to help address opi- prevention strategies. Over
as lawsuits from local gov- it’s not clear when a deal to settle charges that the oid abuse in our communi- the past several years, most
ernments blaming Purdue, might be struck in the case, company downplayed the ties,” Purdue President and states have eased access
based in Stamford, Con- which is complicated by risk of addiction and abuse CEO Craig Landau said in a to the antidote for laypeo-
necticut, and other com- the number of parties and of its blockbuster painkiller statement. ple. First responders, drug
panies in the drug industry questions on how to assign OxyContin starting in the Paul Hanly, one of the lead users and others have tak-
for using deceptive mar- blame. 1990s. It’s facing similar ac- lawyers for plaintiffs in the en to carrying naloxone to
keting practices to encour- The U.S. Centers for Disease cusations again. lawsuits, said having more reverse overdoses. But the
age heavy prescribing of Control and Prevention Earlier this year, the private- access to an overdose an- price of the drug has been
the powerful and addictive estimated that drug over- ly held company stopped tidote would be good, but a problem for state and lo-
painkillers. Last week, the doses killed a record 72,000 marketing OxyContin to
he questioned Purdue’s cal governments. q

No immediate ruling in GOP’s latest ‘Obamacare’ lawsuit

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — leading an effort to scrap whose confirmation could
A federal judge in Texas did the law in the wake of Con- swing the next major chal-
not immediately rule on the gress repealing the “indi- lenge to the law.q
latest push by Republicans vidual mandate,” which
to end the Affordable Care requires most Americans
Act. to buy insurance or risk a
A small group of protesters tax penalty. It’s the most
Wednesday stood outside high-profile lawsuit against
a Fort Worth, Texas, court- the federal health care
room where 20 Republican- law since President Donald
led states have launched Trump took office.
a new challenge over the The arguments in Texas
law that insures 20 million unfolded while senators
Americans. in Washington continued
Republican Texas Attor- Supporters of the Affordable Care Act protest during a rally at pressing Supreme Court
Burnett Park in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018.
ney General Ken Paxton is Associated Press nominee Brett Kavanaugh,