Naloxone prescriptions have fallen significantly during the pandemic, and people on Medicare or with commercial insurance have experienced a more significant decrease in access to naloxone compared to those on Medicaid or cash payment, according to research published in JAMA.

As the opioid epidemic was causing thousands of overdose deaths in West Virginia, AmerisourceBergen executives were sending company emails of parody songs disparaging the state's people, according to emails shown May 13 in a U.S. district court in Charleston.

New prescriptions for opioid addiction treatment buprenorphine significantly decreased during the pandemic, while deaths linked to opioid overdoses increased, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a lawsuit May 6 against global healthcare marketing firm Publicis Health alleging it deployed deceptive marketing schemes designed to help Purdue Pharma sell more of its highly addiction opioid OxyContin.

The Colorado Naloxone Project, an effort to ensure all Colorado hospital emergency departments send at-risk patients home with naloxone, launched May 3, The Colorado Sun reported.

One in five pharmacies won't dispense buprenorphine, a key treatment for opioid addiction, a study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence found. 

As the opioid epidemic continues and pharmacy teams have less time to investigate drug diversion amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals become bigger targets for diversion of controlled substances.

Pharmaceutical company Indivior reached a $300 million settlement with all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico to resolve allegations it falsely and aggressively marketed Suboxone, a drug that treats opioid addiction.

Huntington, W.Va., and the surrounding Cabell County began arguments May 3 for a federal trial in which they are seeking more than $1 billion from opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health.

The FDA said April 30 it has approved a higher dose of naloxone nasal spray to treat opioid overdose. 

COVID-19 long-haulers, those who develop long-term symptoms after being infected with COVID-19, are being prescribed opioids at a rate that raises concerns about addiction, according to a recent study published in Nature.

The Bipartisan Policy Center has launched an opioid task force to address drug addiction and overdose deaths in the U.S., the Washington, D.C.-based think tank said April 21.

Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Endo International and AbbVie’s Allergan unit will go on trial April 19 in a lawsuit filed by several California counties alleging the drugmakers deceptively marketed opioids, The Wall Street Journal reported.

More than 87,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending last September — the highest annual death toll recorded since the opioid crisis started in the late 1990s, according to preliminary CDC data released April 14.

If CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Rite Aid don't settle the thousands of government lawsuits filed against them in connection with their role in the opioid epidemic, they could face an overwhelming and expensive wave of opioid trials over the next few years, Bloomberg reported April 7.

President Joe Biden's administration focused on promoting recovery and reducing overdoses in its first-year drug policy plan, released April 1.

New York City-based consulting firm McKinsey agreed to pay Nevada $45 million to settle the state's investigation of its role in the opioid epidemic, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said March 22.

U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., introduced legislation March 19 aimed at preventing the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma, from evading opioid lawsuits through bankruptcy proceedings.

A pharmacist and pharmacy technician in Michigan were charged March 17 with conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Individuals who filed personal injury claims against Purdue Pharma related to its opioid painkiller OxyContin are expected to receive as much as $48,000 under the drugmaker's bankruptcy plan filed March 15, The Wall Street Journal reported.