Report reveals pharma donations to pain management groups that promote opioid use
The opioid epidemic that is causing devastation in many communities in the U.S. may be being worsened by financial payments made by pharmaceutical companies to advocacy organizations that help people cope with chronic pain, according to a new report released by Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. Fueling an Epidemic: Exposing the Financial Ties Between Opioid Manufacturers and Third Party Advocacy Groups exposes the cozy financial relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and groups that assist pain sufferers.
McCaskill’s report reveals nearly $9 million in payments from these manufacturers to 14 outside groups working on chronic pain and other opioid-related issues between 2012 and 2017. Doctors also profited; physicians affiliated with these groups accepted more than $1.6 million in payments from Purdue Pharma L.P., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mylan N.V., Depomed,Inc., and Insys Therapeutics, Inc. between 2013 and the present. In total, the five manufacturers have made more than $10 million in payments to these groups and affiliated individuals since January 2012.