CommentsTHE POWER OF BIG PHARMA-The opioid epidemic has left no part of the country untouched, yet California can be considered one of the luckier states. Close to 115 Americans die each day of an opioid-related overdose, but California’s death rates have begun to taper off. Public experts surmise that a diverse demographic makeup and the type of heroin available in the area have contributed to the stabilization. But, this is only one barely shining light at the end of a long tunnel.
California is also one of several states whose local communities and counties have filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for deceptive marketing and other sales tactics that led to the rise of the opioid crisis. One out-of-state lawsuit has even named a Los Angeles drug ring in the allegations, citing that Purdue Pharma knew its drugs were being diverted and illegally distributed.
The sad news is that this type of lawsuit is nothing new to the pharmaceutical industry. More often than not, these massive corporations view any courtroom action as just the “cost of doing business” -- look no further than the industry’s extensive history of litigation.
With this understanding in mind, any opioid lawsuit settlements that side in favor of the plaintiffs may be just a temporary fix to the overarching problems within the pharmaceutical industry that contribute to America’s healthcare issues. Before we can begin to make any real progress, it’s time we address two major issues of Big Pharma that often allow them to have the upper hand time and time again.
For one, drug companies are allowed to fund their own clinical trials. Typically, this sponsorship comes from independent entities such as the National Institute of Health. But over the past decade, this source has decreased dramatically, paving the way for industry-sponsored studies to become a regular occurrence. With financial interest in a trial’s outcome, drug companies can often prioritize the positive results of a medication while downplaying a drug’s potential side effects.
This was the case with anticoagulant Xarelto’s clinical trial ROCKET AF. Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson revealed that a faulty blood-testing device caused trial patients to receive an overdose of traditional blood thinner warfarin, thus making it appear that Xarelto was a safer and more effective anticoagulant. When it was time for the drug to go through the FDA’s approval process, investigators at the British Medical Journal discovered that Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical subsidiary withheld data from the agency that would have indicated this faulty monitoring. Under the guise that the trial results were accurate, the FDA approved the blood thinner without an antidote. Since its introduction however, the medication has caused numerous internal bleeding incidents and other life-threatening side effects.
Xarelto is still on the market today with a black box warning for possible reactions that include severe internal bleeding complications and even death, but there is one thing that unites the issue of clinical trials with the ongoing opioid crisis. Like the cities and states that have joined together in the opioid lawsuits, thousands of consumers are now filing claims against Xarelto’s manufacturer for the harm it has caused after the medication was approved.
Then, there’s the issue of lobbying that plays a major role in the successes of Big Pharma. In the past decade, the pharmaceutical/health industry spent roughly $2.5 billion in lobbying and the funding of specific Congressional members, more than any other industry in the country.
With deep pockets and the ability to influence key members of Congress, drug companies have engaged in multiple efforts to curb legislation focused on ending the opioid epidemic. In the spring of 2016, for example, Congress passed the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act which stripped the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of its ability to halt the suspected illegal distribution of painkillers. Political action committees represented by pharmaceutical companies spent $1.5 million in lobbying efforts directed towards the 23 Congress members who supported the bill.
In another example of actions that halted opioid crisis initiatives, the pharmaceutical industry-funded group Pain Care Forum spent approximately $740 million in lobbying that tabled legislative efforts to put a limit on opioid prescriptions.
Once again, seemingly endless funds available to Big Pharma contribute to the industry’s ability to have the upper hand in so many facets of healthcare.
California is certainly doing its part to end the opioid crisis. One of the latest initiatives in the state aims to pay drug users to test their dope for the dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl that has caused numerous overdoses. But, there’s one thing to be mindful of as we strive to overcome the public health emergency. The pharmaceutical industry holds incredible influence, and it may take more than just lawsuits and patient-focused initiatives to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.
(Morgan Statt is a Health & Safety Investigator for ConsumerSafety.org.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
