Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and bipartisan leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters to three leading drug manufacturers seeking answers and documents regarding their roles in the opioid crisis.
Griffith issued the following statement:
“The Energy and Commerce Committee has been examining the many aspects of the opioid crisis in our communities. Particularly, the Committee has been investigating the role of companies that supply drugs as part of our commitment to address this crisis. Our letter to three drug manufacturers continues this work. We are seeking answers in an effort to understand how drug manufacturer practices may have affected the course of the opioid crisis.”
In addition to Griffith, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Committee Ranking Vice Chairman Kathy Castor (D-FL), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Gregg Harper (R-MS), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO) signed the letters. Griffith is Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
The letter to Purdue Pharma inquires about when the company knew of the dangers of OxyContin. According to a plea entered in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, three executives of the company pled guilty in 2007 of mislabeling OxyContin. The letter signed by Griffith asks whether or not they also instructed sales staff to mislead medical providers.
The letter to Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals seeks answers about the practice of “chargebacks,” in which drug manufacturers provide discounts to drug wholesale distributors in exchange for direct customer sales data.
The letter to Insys Therapeutics asks about alleged kickbacks organized by company officials to increase sales of Subsys. a sublingual fentanyl spray.
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