More Americans are dying from fentanyl overdoses. Since 2016 alone, the death toll attributed to the drug has risen just shy of 300 percent, according to the CDC. 

Emergent BioSolutions said it will aim to keep the cost of over-the-counter Narcan under $50 — a figure some health experts say is still too high, The Washington Post reported April 20.

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs are a clinically effective approach for treating substance use disorders. 

Opioid medications will now be required to have updated warning labels and safety information, according to a new mandate from the FDA.

A Hawaii physician was arrested and charged with four counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances after providing prescriptions to an undercover federal agent he met in a restaurant.

The CDC recently updated its opioid recommendations, but advocates worry the move is too little, too late for millions of Americans in chronic pain struggling to get prescriptions, CNN reported March 17.

Well-intentioned programs can be outgrown by progress in others. That’s a good thing—if we acknowledge shortcomings and move forward.

In a 19-0 vote on Feb. 15, an FDA advisory panel recommended the agency allow Narcan (naloxone) nasal spray, a product used to reduce or reverse opioid overdoses, to be sold over the counter. 

Fewer patients are leaving emergency departments with opioid prescriptions, a continuation of a trend that began a decade ago, according to CDC data brief released Jan. 19. 

Here are five recent opioid cases, all of which settled for or have proposed settlements of at least $83 million:

Cleveland-based MetroHealth Medical Center recently installed a vending machine with naloxone — an opioid overdose antidote — condoms, wound care kits, fentanyl test strip kits and sharps containers.

Physicians aren't sure how to treat the growing number of patients who take opioids laced with xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, because of its slim number of withdrawal treatments, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Jan. 17. 

The 155 ZIP code, which encompasses Somerset, Pa., noted an 885 percent increase in hospitals and pharmacies dispensing one opioid use disorder treatment from 2010 to 2020, one study found. 

New Mexico reached a net $132 million agreement with CVS, Walmart and Albertsons over allegations the retail giants reaped large profits from selling addictive opioids to patients, the Albuquerque Journal reported Dec. 20.

The Biden Administration is looking to permanently adopt loosened, pandemic-era rules designed to increase access to two treatments for opioid use disorder. 

CVS Health and Walgreens have agreed to pay a total of $10.7 billion to settle opioid disputes, NBC News reported Dec. 12.

The White House on Dec. 8 launched a dashboard to track nonfatal opioid overdoses at the state and county level, offering those on the front line of the opioid epidemic a better look at the hardest-hit areas and where to target lifesaving resources. 

Teva Pharmaceuticals and AbbVie's Allergan followed the lead of retail pharmacy chains to allot billions of dollars to settle nationwide opioid lawsuits, according to North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. 

Managing postoperative pain requires physicians to strike a challenging balance between reducing pain through use of local anesthetics — which largely lose effectiveness beyond 24 hours — and prescribing longer-acting opioids, which expose patients to the risk of sliding into addiction.

Walmart proposed a $3.1 billion settlement for its pharmacies' role in opioid abuse, and the move has one independent pharmacist worried about unintended consequences, CBS affiliate KTVQ reported Nov. 16.