• Drug company executives face prison time for role in opioid epidemic

    Drug company executives face prison time for role in opioid epidemic

    Jan 24, 2020 11:40 PM EST

    The drug was designed specifically for end-stage cancer patients. The main ingredient? Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. The company wanted doctors to write as many prescriptions as possible, and for as high a dose as possible. In his job interview in 2012, Burlakoff told ...

  • Former Insys Therapeutics Chairman sentenced for role in opioid scheme

    Former Insys Therapeutics Chairman sentenced for role in opioid scheme

    Jan 23, 2020 10:50 PM EST

    Jurors were also shown a rap video in which Insys employees danced and rapped around a person dressed as a giant bottle of the fentanyl spray. Prosecutors said the video was shown at a national sales meeting in 2015 and was intended to motivate reps to push Subsys to doctors ...

  • What Phase 1 of Trump's China trade deal includes -- and what it doesn't

    What Phase 1 of Trump's China trade deal includes -- and what it doesn't

    Jan 15, 2020 11:35 PM EST

    ... the hacking of our computers by the Chinese government to steal our business trade secrets. And the worst thing is, they're killing Americans with fentanyl, OK? But -- but we do have those tariffs in place. Those tariffs serve two things. They're the best defense against the Chinese in ...

  • The influential people we said goodbye to in 2019

    The influential people we said goodbye to in 2019

    Dec 28, 2019 12:08 AM EST

    Tyler Skaggs, 27. The left-handed pitcher who was a regular in the Los Angeles Angels' starting rotation since late 2016 and struggled with injuries repeatedly in that time. July 1. Choked on his own vomit and had a toxic mix of alcohol and painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his ...

  • 11 senators ask Purdue Pharma not to give CEO a bonus

    11 senators ask Purdue Pharma not to give CEO a bonus

    Dec 17, 2019 08:15 PM EST

    ... lawsuits the company faces over OxyContin, a highly addictive prescription opioid. The entire class of drugs, including illicit versions such as heroin and illegally made fentanyl, have been linked to more than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. since 2000. Landau has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer has ...

  • Drug companies reach tentative deal to settle opioids lawsuit

    Drug companies reach tentative deal to settle opioids lawsuit

    Oct 21, 2019 01:10 PM EST

    ... crisis. The epidemic has become more complicated in the past decade, with fatal overdose numbers rising largely because of illicit drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. Overall, there have been more than 400,000 deaths linked to opioids in the U.S. since 2000. The settlement efforts until now have ...

  • Jury selection begins in opioid trial despite delay request

    Jury selection begins in opioid trial despite delay request

    Oct 16, 2019 03:02 PM EST

    ... with effects of the opioid crisis to get help as soon as possible. Counting prescription drugs and illegal ones such as heroin and illicitly made fentanyl, opioids have been blamed for more than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. since 2000. Five drug manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, have used ...

  • Why bankruptcy might not get opioid-maker Purdue Pharma off the hook

    Why bankruptcy might not get opioid-maker Purdue Pharma off the hook

    Sep 16, 2019 12:36 PM EST

    ... fraction of the prescription opioids shipped over the years — and most fatal overdoses have been linked to illegal opioids such as heroin and illicitly made fentanyl. Steve Miller, chairman of Purdue's board of directors, said on a conference call with reporters that an admission of wrongdoing is not part ...

  • Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy as part of opioids settlement

    Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy as part of opioids settlement

    Sep 16, 2019 12:14 PM EST

    In recent years, there have been more deaths involving illicit opioids, including heroin and fentanyl, than the prescription forms of the drugs. That change has happened as awareness of the dangers of prescription opioids has increased and prescribers have become more cautious. Purdue's drugs are just a slice of ...

  • Tracking the flow of opioids across America

    Tracking the flow of opioids across America

    Aug 25, 2019 09:28 PM EST

    ... But it's just sort of a Band-Aid of a solution. And so there really needs to be sort of an emphasis on stopping fentanyl from getting into the country and also in treatment for people who are addicted to it. Hari Sreenivasan: You know even though we've ...