Latest Drugs Headlines

All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.

States Say OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Owes $2.2 Trillion for Opioid Epidemic

Aug 18 2020 // U.S. states claimed they are owed $2.2 trillion to address harm from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP’s alleged role in America’s opioid epidemic, accusing the drugmaker in new filings of pushing prescription...

Drugmakers Shielded from COVID Vaccine Liability But Funds for Injury Claims in Doubt

Aug 14 2020 // Americans who suffer adverse reactions to coronavirus vaccines that the U.S. is racing to develop will have a hard time getting compensated for injuries from the drugs.That’s because pandemic-related claims for...

U.S. Drug Regulator Vows Outside Review of Any COVID-19 Vaccines

Aug 11 2020 // The United States will need to have independent experts review COVID-19 vaccine candidates before approval, the country’s top drug regulator said on Friday, offering reassurance that his agency would not cut corners...

U.S. Eyes $13 Billion of Claims in Purdue Pharma Opioid Probes: Reuters

Aug 5 2020 // U.S. prosecutors are pursuing possible penalties of nearly $13 billion to resolve investigations of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma after uncovering evidence of criminal and civil misconduct stemming from the company’s...

Trump Signs Executive Orders to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

Jul 27 2020 // U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed four executive orders aimed at lowering the prices Americans pay for prescription drugs, as he faces an uphill re-election battle and criticism over his handling of the...

COVID-19 Treatment Remdesivir to Cost Private Insurers $3,120

Jul 6 2020 // The maker of a drug shown to shorten recovery time for severely ill COVID-19 patients says it will charge $2,340 for a typical treatment course for people covered by government health programs in the United States and...

Injured Workers Pharmacy Will Pay $11M to Settle Complaint By Mass. AG’s Office

Jul 6 2020 // A mail-order pharmacy that fought frequent court battles against workers’ compensation insurers will pay $11 million and change its business practices to settle a civil complaint by the Massachusetts attorney...

Texas Work Comp Division: Healthcare Providers Indicted for Drug Distribution, Fraud

Jul 2 2020 // Three Texas healthcare providers will face trial for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and mail fraud, according to the Texas Department of Insurance – Division of Workers’ Compensation.On June 17,...

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Agrees to Pay $678M to Settle Doctor-Bribe Claims

Jul 2 2020 // Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. agreed to pay $678 million to resolve a whistle-blower case accusing the company of paying kickbacks to thousands of doctors who prescribed its drugs and wooing them with lavish dinners and...

Arizona Man Accused of Selling LSD Sues for Wrongful Arrest

Jun 25 2020 // A Flagstaff, Ariz. man who was wrongfully arrested on suspicion of selling LSD has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, saying police ignored evidence that showed he wasn’t a drug dealer.Tremayne Nez, who is...

Appeals Court Strikes Down Trump TV Ad Drug Price Rule

Jun 17 2020 // A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that struck down a Trump administration rule that required pharmaceutical companies to include the wholesale prices of their drugs in television advertisements.The U.S. Court...

New York Charges Drugmaker Endo with Insurance Fraud Over Opioid Claims

Jun 11 2020 // New York state filed civil charges on Wednesday accusing Endo International Plc of insurance fraud for misrepresenting the safety and efficacy of its opioid drugs, adding fuel to the nation’s opioid crisis.Governor...

States’ Lawsuit Accuses 26 Drugmakers of Price Fixing of Generic Drugs

Jun 11 2020 // Twenty-six drug manufacturers were sued on Wednesday by the attorneys general of most U.S. states and several territories, which accused them of conspiring to reduce competition and drive up generic drug prices.The lawsuit...

Rite-Aid, Walgreens Sued by West Virginia Over Opioid Rx Flood

Jun 8 2020 // Rite-Aid and Walgreens failed to monitor and report suspicious orders of prescription painkillers in West Virginia while inundating their retail pharmacies with tens of millions of pills, according to a state lawsuit.The...

As Doctors Prescribe Fewer Opioids for Injured Workers, What Do They Offer Instead?

Jun 4 2020 // The good news is that doctors are less likely to prescribe opioids to injured workers than they were years ago. They have come to recognize that the pain medications have been overprescribed, causing addictions and deaths...

Study: Sharp Drop in California Workers’ Comp Independent Medical Reviews

Jun 1 2020 // The number of Independent Medical Review determination letters, a process used to resolve California workers’ compensation medical disputes, fell sharply in prescription drug disputes by 11.3% from 2018 to 2019, with...

Pilot in Helicopter Crash That Killed Lakers Star Had No Drugs, Alcohol in System

Jun 1 2020 // The pilot flying Kobe Bryant and seven others to a youth basketball tournament did not have alcohol or drugs in his system, and all nine sustained immediately fatal injuries when their helicopter slammed into a hillside...

Pilot in Helicopter Cash That Killed Lakers Star Had No Drugs, Alcohol in System

May 18 2020 // The pilot flying Kobe Bryant and seven others to a youth basketball tournament did not have alcohol or drugs in his system, and all nine sustained immediately fatal injuries when their helicopter slammed into a hillside...

Study: Sharp Drop in California Workers’ Comp Independent Medical Reviews

May 18 2020 // The number of Independent Medical Review determination letters, a process used to resolve California workers’ compensation medical disputes, fell sharply in prescription drug disputes by 11.3% from 2018 to 2019, with...

Drugmaker Questioned for Nearly Tripling Price of Potential COVID-19 Drug

May 5 2020 // The chair of a House of Representatives committee and a fellow Democratic committee member on Monday urged Jaguar Health Inc. to reverse recent price hikes of a drug that could be used to treat side effects in COVID-19...