Scientists Take Step Closer To Designing Drug That Offers Powerful Pain Relief Without Addiction
In the midst of the opioid crisis, researchers are scrambling to come up with a way to help patients manage pain without contributing to the epidemic. These scientists may have found a way. In other news: a Senate panel sends its bipartisan opioid bill to the chamber's floor; Google is using its homepage to bring awareness to the crisis; public speakers at FDA advisory meetings found to have financial conflicts of interest; and more.
Los Angeles Times:
This Engineered Painkiller Works Like An Opioid But Isn't Addictive In Animal Tests
Sometimes forgotten in the spiraling U.S. crisis of opiate abuse is a clinical fact about narcotic pain medications: addiction is basically an unwanted side effect of drugs that are highly effective at blunting pain. Addiction, of course, is a particularly dangerous and disruptive side effect, since it hijacks a patient's brain and demands escalating doses of opioid drugs to hold withdrawal symptoms at bay. (Healy, 4/24)
The Hill:
Senate Health Panel Approves Opioid Bill
The Senate Health Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to send the panel’s bipartisan opioid bill to the chamber’s floor. The panel held seven hearings on the opioid crisis, including one on the discussion draft of the bill introduced by Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Lawmakers touted the bipartisan process used to craft the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 aimed at combating the opioid crisis, which has shown no signs of slowing down. (Roubein, 4/24)
CQ HealthBeat:
Senate, House Tackle Opioids Legislation
The House heads into a marathon opioid markup Wednesday, a day after the Senate health committee approved bipartisan legislation of its own addressing the crisis. Both chambers are eager to advance bills to combat the crisis on an aggressive timeline, with an eye toward demonstrating action before the election on an issue that affects voters representing most demographics and districts. (Raman, 4/25)
The Washington Post:
Google Is Promoting The DEA’s ‘Take Back Day’ On Its Homepage To Help Combat The Opioid Crisis
Google said that it will use its homepage and maps starting Wednesday to promote a Drug Enforcement Administration project to help combat the opioid epidemic, as regulators and lawmakers call for more direct intervention by Silicon Valley to address the drug crisis. Underneath the Google search bar, the company will promote the DEA's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, an initiative that encourages people to anonymously take unused medications to a collection site where they can be safely discarded. The semiannual event will take place Saturday. (Shaban, 4/25)
Stat:
Public Speakers At FDA Advisory Meetings Have Financial Conflicts, But Do They Sway Outcomes?
For the second time in as many years, an analysis has found that public speakers at Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meetings have notable financial conflicts, raising questions about the extent to which such ties may somehow influence the deliberations. In the latest analysis, 25 percent of the public speakers at 15 meetings held between September 2009 and April 2017 by the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee, which reviews opioids and other painkillers, had conflicts of interest. (Silverman, 4/24)
California Healthline:
Facebook Live: Confronting Opioid Addiction
Three medications have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat opioid addiction: methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone. But access to them depends largely on where you live. Methadone and buprenorphine are the two most popular options. But many California communities, particularly rural ones, have neither a methadone clinic nor a doctor who can prescribe buprenorphine. (4/24)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Opioid 'Contracts' Humiliate Some Patients With Chronic Pain, And May Not Make Them Safer
Almost all chronic pain patients who now take prescription opioids for relief are asked by their doctors to sign a document in which they agree to submit to random urine drug screens, pill counts and other conditions in order to receive their medication. Designed to deter abuse and the sale of prescription painkillers amidst the heroin and fentanyl overdose epidemic, there is little solid evidence that these "opioid contracts" are effective, according to research on the topic. (Zeltner, 4/25)
Health News Florida:
Osceola Sues Drug Companies Over Opioid Epidemic
Osceola County is going after pharmaceutical companies. The county filed a lawsuit against several drug companies. County attorney Andrew Mai said the suit claims the companies’ distribution of opioids is costing the county. (Chavez, 4/24)