Like many parts of the
country, Chicago has seen a rise of the misuse of opioids since 2009. Between
26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated
2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders
related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012, according to the
National Institute of Drug Abuse.
Pfizer said it will disclose
in its promotional material that narcotic painkillers can carry serious risk of
addiction and promised to not promote opiates for unapproved uses such as
long-term back pain.
The company will also acknowledge that there is no good
research on the effectiveness of opioids past 12 weeks of use, the city said in
a statement.
"The voluntary
agreement between Pfizer and the City of Chicago arose in connection with the
city's recent efforts to combat opioid abuse, a goal the company fully
supports," said Pfizer spokeswoman Allyanna Anglim, in a written
statement.
Officials said they hope
Pfizer's agreement will set the bar for manufacture of narcotics and could help
combat the rise in narcotic painkiller misuse in the U.S.
Chicago was the first city
to file suit against leading opioid manufacturers. The lawsuit named Purdue
Pharma, Cephalon, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Health Solutions and Actavis.
None of the five companies were immediately available for CNBC's request for
comment.
Pfizer was not named in this
suit. However, the drug company has been aiding the city's investigation and
lawsuit.
Nothing in Pfizer's
agreement is meant to suggest that it has taken inappropriate action with
regard to the sale or promotion of opioids in the city.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
said the agreement is a step in the right direction to help protect and educate
the public about the risks of addictive painkillers.
"The use of these drugs
has led to a dramatic rise in drug addiction, overdose and diversion in
communities across the nation, including in Chicago," he said, in a
statement. "Pfizer's cooperation is proof that companies can act
responsibly. We will continue our fight to force other companies to end their
irresponsible practices and be held accountable for their deceptive actions
that cause serious damage to individuals, families and neighborhoods and has
helped fuel the heroin epidemic in Chicago."
The city alleges companies
"knowingly and aggressively marketed these drugs as rarely addictive,
while touting benefits that lacked scientific support in order to boost
profits."
A 2008 investigation by the
city reported that 87 percent of all opioids dispensed were to patients using
them to treat chronic pain on a long-term basis, even though there is no
scientific evidence supporting the long-term use of these drugs for non-cancer
chronic pain, according to the report.
In 2009, the City of Chicago
had 1,080 trips emergency room visits were from opioid misuse, according to a
report. The city also paid $12.3 million in insurance claims for painkiller
prescriptions between 2008 and 2015.
"The city is not
seeking to ban these drugs. Instead, the lawsuit seeks to end deceptive
marketing so that patients and physicians are able to make informed decisions
about when and how to use these highly addictive drugs," the city said in
a statement.
Credit:CNBC
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