Asia Pacific May 18, 2020
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says the scale of the bust was unprecedented and that Myanmar's anti-drug authorities have "dismantled a significant network."
World / Politics Nov 27, 2019
Melania Trump was widely booed when she took the stage at a youth event in Baltimore on Tuesday, an unusually hostile reception for a U.S. first lady. The sustained boos, which bookended her remarks and were interrupted by some cheers, marked the latest negative reception ...
Asia Pacific / Crime & Legal Nov 7, 2019
China jails nine fentanyl smugglers in first joint case with U.S.
A Chinese court on Thursday imprisoned nine people, one whom got a suspended death sentence, on charges of smuggling fentanyl into the United States, in the first such case the two countries had worked on together. China has faced U.S. criticism for not doing enough ...
Commentary / World Sep 28, 2019
Complicity, opioids and vaping — a bad mix
by Faye Flam
Business Sep 16, 2019
After deluge of lawsuits, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy protection
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday night, succumbing to pressure from more than 2,600 lawsuits alleging the company helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic. Purdue's board met Sunday evening to approve the long-expected bankruptcy filing, which the company is pursuing ...
Business Sep 12, 2019
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP reached a tentative agreement with some plaintiffs to resolve widespread litigation over its alleged role in fueling the U.S. opioid crisis and plans to tussle with states opposing its settlement offer in bankruptcy proceedings starting as soon as next ...
Business / Corporate Sep 4, 2019
OxyContin maker Purdue prepares 'free-fall' bankruptcy as settlement talks stall, sources say
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection before the end of the month if it does not reach a settlement with U.S. communities over widespread opioid litigation, three people familiar with the matter said, after some states balked at the ...
Business / Corporate Aug 28, 2019
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, the Sackler family, are in discussion to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Purdue is among several drug-makers and distributors ...
World / Science & Health Aug 27, 2019
While some Johnson & Johnson investors were relieved that the company's $572 million penalty for fueling Oklahoma's opioid epidemic wasn't as high as feared, lawyers for other U.S. states, cities and counties could hardly contain their glee. That's because the ruling by Oklahoma Judge Thad ...
Business May 27, 2019
Teva to pay $85 million settlement in Oklahoma opioid case; J&J trial looms
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. agreed to pay $85 million to settle an Oklahoma lawsuit claiming that illegal marketing of its opioid painkillers contributed to a public health crisis in the state. The deal, announced Sunday, was reached just as the case was about to go ...
Business Nov 20, 2018
Firm's 600% opioid antidote price hike cost taxpayers millions: U.S. senators
Kaleo Inc.'s more than 600 percent price increase on its opioid-overdose antidote has cost the Medicare and Medicaid health program $142 million since 2014, according to a report by two U.S. senators. Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Tom Carper of Delaware said in the ...
Business Apr 18, 2018
U.S. drug agency proposes rules to rein in opioid manufacturing with quotas
The U.S. government on Tuesday proposed tightening rules governing the amount of prescription opioid painkillers that drugmakers can manufacture in a given year, in hopes of reining in the deadly opioid epidemic. The Drug Enforcement Administration's proposed changes to its regulations over addictive drug manufacturing ...