Below are three publications looking at how Big Pharma helped to create the global opioid crisis, and a comment from me.
1. International Journal of Drug Policy 2024
Andrea Bowra et al.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104604
'Purdue [Phamaceuticals] exerted influence through various avenues, most prominently through the creation and cooptation of pain advocacy groups, their close ties with United States elected officials, and through embedding pro-opioid messaging in international guidance documents. In doing so, Purdue was able to extend the reach and impact of their opioid promotion, while simultaneously limiting the capacity of regulatory bodies to pursue accountability and implement policies to mitigate opioid-related harms.'
2. AME Journal of Ethics
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-fda-failures-contribute...
How FDA Failures Contributed to the Opioid Crisis
Andrew Kolodny, MD
'Over the past 25 years, pharmaceutical companies deceptively promoted opioid use in ways that were often neither safe nor effective, contributing to unprecedented increases in prescribing, opioid use disorder, and deaths by overdose. This article explores regulatory mistakes made by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in approving and labeling new analgesics. By understanding and correcting these mistakes, future public health crises caused by improper pharmaceutical marketing might be prevented.'
3. The Role of Pharmaceutical Companies in the Opioid Epidemic
https://www.addictions.com/opiate/the-role-of-pharmaceutical-companies-i...
'While no one can fault pharmaceutical companies for making money, the opioid epidemic would not exist without the type of tremendous pull these companies have in the marketplace. The major players who took part in creating the opioid epidemic include:
Purdue Pharma
Abbott Labs
Johnson & Johnson
Pfizer
Novartis
Covidien
Watson Pharmaceuticals
Endo Pharmaceuticals
Over the course of two decades, these companies paved the way for opioids to become the go-to pain treatment medication using a wide range of marketing and advertising tactics.'
COMMENT (NPW): I also read 'Pharmaceutical companies heavily pushed the use of opioids as a humane treatment option, often using paid physician consultants to expound on the safety and benefits of opioids use. Not prescribing opioids for a patient with pain risked being labeled as inhumane, often even to the extent of litigation for the under-treatment of pain.'
We have noted that opioids have limited use in patients with chronic pain. Pharma companies have profited from the misery of patients with chronic pain addicted to opioid drugs that are largely ineffective for their underlying condition.
I look forward to your comments on this topic. Are prescription opioids a problem in your country?
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org