Auditor General DePasquale Says Big Pharma Taking Step on Opioids
Auditor General DePasquale Says Big Pharma Taking Step on Opioids
HARRISBURG (Feb. 28, 2018) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today issued the following statement regarding Purdue Pharma’s announcement on reduction of opioid production and promotion:
“As thousands of Pennsylvanians are dying from drug overdoses each year, Purdue Pharma’s decision this month to reduce opioid production and promotion to prescribers is a step in the right direction.
“This change in direction is little consolation to the tens of thousands of families devastated by the opioid crisis that is gripping the nation. I call on all pharmaceutical companies and the FDA to step up and do much, much more to help combat opioid addiction.”
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released provisional data showing that 5,443 Pennsylvanians died from a drug overdose during the 12-month period that ended July 2017. That is an increase from 3,797 reported for the previous year.
Working to address the opioid crisis in Pennsylvania, DePasquale last year conducted audits of three state agencies charged with addressing opioid abuse.
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