The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Walmart Dec. 22 alleging the supermarket giant contributed to the opioid crisis by failing to properly screen its pharmacies for abusive prescribing practices. 

Drugmakers who produce opioids have paid $65 million since 1997 to nonprofits that advocate for treating pain with the highly addictive medications, according to a bipartisan congressional investigation released Dec. 16.

Two members of the Sackler family, which owned Purdue Pharma, will testify Dec. 17 before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Many public health experts have said the pandemic has exacerbated the opioid epidemic, as social isolation, moving recovery programs to remote settings and stress have led to an increase in opioid abuse and overdoses.

New York City-based consulting firm McKinsey issued a statement regarding its past work with Purdue Pharma, saying it failed to contextualize the opioid epidemic's destructive effects when advising the drugmaker on how to increase OxyContin sales.

President-elect Joe Biden released an initial plan earlier this month to tackle the opioid epidemic, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

McKinsey, the prestigious consulting firm that advised Purdue Pharma on how to ramp up OxyContin sales, recommended the drugmaker pay its distributors a rebate for every overdose the painkiller caused, according to a Nov. 27 New York Times report.  

Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty Nov. 24 to three criminal charges related to the marketing and sale of OxyContin, according to The Wall Street Journal. The guilty plea formally admits the company's role in the nation's opioid epidemic.

Judge Robert Drain approved Purdue Pharma's $8.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice Nov. 17, nearly a month after the drugmaker agreed to plead guilty to three criminal counts, including federal anti-kickback law violation and conspiracy to defraud, ABC News reported.

Pharmaceutical company Indivior was ordered to pay $289 million in criminal penalties in connection to its guilty plea related to marketing opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone, the Justice Department said Nov. 12. 

A group of more than two dozen members of Congress penned a letter to Attorney General William Barr Nov. 10, urging him to reject part of the Justice Department's opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma.

Incoming medical students have a greater knowledge of opioid overdose than the general public but still hold significantly stigmatized feelings about patients with substance abuse disorders, according to a study accepted for publication in Substance Abuse. 

Mckesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and Johnson & Johnson have offered a $26 billion deal with states and local governments to end the thousands of lawsuits against the pharma companies for their roles in the opioid crisis, The New York Times reported.

Federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Louise W. Flanagan to shut down Wilmington, N.C.-based pharmacy Seashore Drugs, alleging its owner and head pharmacist disregarded telltale signs of patient misuse when dispensing opioids, according to a report from local NBC affiliate WECT.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered health systems’ priorities, leading to the redistribution and reallocation of human and financial resources towards pandemic-related prevention and treatment efforts. During this time, a parallel public health emergency — the national epidemic of opioid-related morbidity and mortality — has continued unabated, with almost 450,000 opioid overdose-related deaths from 1999-2018.

Two U.S. representatives released documents Oct. 27 detailing the Sackler family's role in opioid sales for Purdue Pharma, which the family owned until it agreed to dissolve the company in an agreement reached with the Department of Justice.

Walmart has sued the Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration in anticipation of upcoming civil lawsuits against the retail giant for its pharmacies' opioid dispensing practices.

A West Virginia court ordered Walmart to turn over all documents related to its opioid dispensing practices to state and federal authorities, according to court documents.

Purdue Pharma on Oct. 21 agreed to shut down its company, pay roughly $8.3 billion and plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating and exacerbating the nation's opioid epidemic.

More than three dozen Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to the U.S. attorney general asking him to consider filing criminal charges against Purdue Pharma executives and members of the Sackler family, STAT reported.