Endo International Plc agreed to stop marketing its Opana ER painkiller pill as crush resistant. Under a settlement with the New York State, it also announced that it will stop downplaying the risks of addiction associated with the narcotic.
According to Business Insurance, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman claimed that the company's own studies found out that the narcotic pill could be crushed. But the company's deceptive marketing strategy gave a false understanding of security to doctors and patients.
The misleading marketing increased the sales of the company. However, under the settlement, Endo also vowed to pay its penalty of $200,000. The Attorney General also stated that Endo improperly directed the sales representatives to devalue the addiction risks linked with the use of Opana ER.
Reuters reported that, Schneider revealed that the use of the prescription opioids to deal with chronic, non-cancerous pain increased tenfold all over the U.S. for more than the last 20 years. In fact, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has regarded opioid overdoses as an outbreak.
The institution said that opioids were responsible for the 28,647 deaths, or 61% of all drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2014. It also stressed that the rate of opioid overdoses has tripled since 2010.
In a statement by Endo, it mentioned that the company was "deeply committed to patient health and safety." It also expressed its openness to the attorney general's support towards restricting opioid prescription abuse in the country.
The company, which is based in Dublin, Ireland and has its U.S. offices in Malvern, Pennsylvania, stated on Monday, that it currently faces other regulatory investigations. It also disclosed that the company faces lawsuits related to its opioid sales and marketing practices, as reported by CHANNEL NEWSASIA.
Meanwhile, the company reported US$175.8 million of net sales from Opana ER for 2015, garnering more than 5 percent of its total revenue. But in this year's trading, Endo shares went down to 81 cents, or 1.8 percent.
