Opioid makers gave $13m to lobbyists

Companies selling some of the most lucrative prescription painkillers funnelled millions of dollars to advocacy groups that in turn promoted the medications’ use, according to a report released yesterday by a United States senator.

The investigation by Missouri’s Senator Claire McCaskill sheds light on the opioid industry’s ability to shape public opinion and raises questions about its role in an overdose epidemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of American lives. Representatives of some of the drugmakers named in the report said they did not set conditions on how the money was to be spent or force the groups to advocate for their painkillers.

The report from McCaskill examines advocacy funding by the makers of the top five opioid painkillers by worldwide sales in 2015. Financial information the companies provided to Senate staff shows they spent more than US$10 million ($13.7m) between 2012 and 2017 to support 14 advocacy groups and affiliated doctors.

The report did not include some of the largest and most politically active manufacturers of the drugs.

The findings follow a 2012 investigation by a bipartisan pair of senators. That effort was shelved and no findings were ever released.

Experts said the new report gives an insight into how industry-funded groups fuelled demand for drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin, addictive medications that generated billions in sales despite research showing they are largely ineffective for chronic pain. — AP