This Life-Saving Opioid Antidote Device Now Costs $4,500
As demand for a device to deliver naloxone has increased, one company raised the price of that product nearly $4,000.
LEARN MOREOne Senator Is Going After Big Pharma Over The Opioid Epidemic
The Democratic senator from Missouri wants documents from the top five opioid manufacturers.
One Senator Is Going After Big Pharma Over The Opioid Epidemic
Getty Images
March 29, 2017
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill wants to know if drug companies played a role in fueling America's opioid epidemic.
The Missouri Democrat is launching an investigation into the top five opioid manufacturers: Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Insys, Depomed and Mylan.
McCaskill wants information on what each company knows about opioid addiction and how each marketed the drugs to the public.
She told reporters she wants to know why the drugs have suddenly been "handed out like candy in this country."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the number of prescription opioids sold in the U.S. has quadrupled since 1999.
Overdose deaths involving opioids — including those from heroin — have also quadrupled since 1999.
According to the most recent data, more than 15,000 people died from overdoses involving prescription opioids in 2015.
McCaskill is in the minority party. So if the companies don't want to hand the documents over, she doesn't have the power to subpoena them.
But she said she hopes her Republican colleagues will step up.
Tyre Nichols documents: Officer never explained stop to him
Emerging reports say the officers who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car never told him why he was being stopped.
By City of Memphis / APUnited flight turns around after fire in cabin
Four passengers were treated for smoke inhalation and two others declined treatment after a fire erupted from an external battery pack.
By AP5:59
Would high speed rail work in the US?
Overseas, the concept is already reality. While the U.S. was in the throes of building highways, Japan opened the world’s first high-speed railway.
By Rich Pedroncelli / APTop Stories
3:37
AI-powered walking sticks could help those who are visually impaired
Researchers say the walking stick is still years away from being available to the public.
By Scripps NewsTyre Nichols documents: Officer never explained stop to him
Emerging reports say the officers who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car never told him why he was being stopped.
By City of Memphis / AP3:06
A Syrian American couple helps with aid after deadly earthquake
A Syrian American couple are now leading relief efforts in the aftermath of one of the deadliest earthquakes of the century.
By Emrah Gurel / AP