By Jonathan D. Rockoff 

An influential Democratic lawmaker has begun a probe into the marketing of opioid drugs, sending letters to Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson and other big sellers of the pain medicines for materials detailing sales practices.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D.-Mo.), the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said she aims to clarify "the challenges industry practices pose to efforts to curb opioid addiction."

Other companies receiving letters from Sen. McCaskill requesting various company documents and information are Insys Therapeutics Inc., Mylan NV and Depomed Inc.

A Depomed spokesman said the company is reviewing the letter and "will respond accordingly." The other companies didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The companies aren't required by law to respond, because Sen. McCaskill sent the letters individually, rather than with the chairman of the committee. A spokesman for the senator said she hopes the companies will respond "given the gravity and importance of the issue."

In 2015, more than 15,000 people died in the U.S. from overdoses involving prescription opioids, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The deaths have sparked efforts to curb overuse of the painkillers, along with scrutiny of the role that drugmakers have played. Some big pharmaceutical companies have paid large fines over their marketing of opioid painkillers. In 2007, Purdue Frederick Co., an affiliate of Purdue Pharma, and three of its executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges of misleading the public about the addictive qualities of OxyContin, and agreed to pay $634.5 million in fines.

In February, two Alabama doctors were convicted of taking $115,000 in kickbacks from Insys and prescribing opioids for no medical purpose, among other crimes. Prosecutors said Insys employees disguised the kickbacks as legitimate fees paid to the doctors for promoting the opioid painkiller Subsys at speaking events. The doctors said they planned to appeal the convictions.

Former Insys sales representative Natalie Perhacs pleaded guilty to participating in the kickback scheme.

At least 10 former Insys employees, including former CEO Michael Babich, have been arrested on federal criminal charges that include racketeering, insurance fraud and paying kickbacks to doctors. Mr. Babich and the other former employees have pleaded not guilty to the allegations. Insys has said it is cooperating with all ongoing investigations and is committed to complying with laws and regulations.

Insys said Monday that Saeed Motahari, who had been Purdue Pharma's chief operating officer, would become the company's chief executive starting April 17.

Sen. McCaskill sent letters to the companies selling the top-five prescription opioids by sales, though other companies also have big revenue from their own painkillers.

In 2015, nearly 249 million prescriptions were dispensed for opioids in the U.S., with the sales totaling $9.6 billion, according to the latest data from IMS Health.

Among the materials Sen. McCaskill requested from the five companies were "any internal estimates of the risk of" misuse, abuse or diversion of a drug, marketing plans and any quotas issued to sales representatives to recruit doctors to speak about the products.

The requests follow the senator's request earlier this year that the Justice Department's inspector general review the Drug Enforcement Administration's role in curbing opioid abuse.

Write to Jonathan D. Rockoff at Jonathan.Rockoff@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 28, 2017 12:50 ET (16:50 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Johnson and Johnson Charts.
Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Johnson and Johnson Charts.