"We are also disturbed that no one from the Senator's staff contacted APS to inquire and learn the truth about our policies and procedures governing industry grants. Had they done so, we would have explained in detail the educational and pain research initiatives APS continues to pursue to help resolve the opioid crisis," the APS said in a statement.
The McCaskill report, released February 12, found that five opioid manufacturers made contributions of nearly $9 million to 14 third-party pain advocacy groups between 2012 and 2017. The APS, the Academy of Integrative Pain Management, and the American Academy of Pain Medicine are among the groups mentioned in the report.
The report said initiatives from these groups often "echoed and amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use — and ultimately, the financial interests of opioid manufacturers."
It also charges these groups of issuing guidelines and policies "minimizing the risk of opioid addiction and promoting opioids for chronic pain, lobbied to change laws directed at curbing opioid use, and argued against accountability for physicians and industry executives responsible for overprescription and misbranding."
"The pharmaceutical industry spent a generation downplaying the risks of opioid addiction and trying to expand their customer base for these incredibly dangerous medications and this report makes clear they made investments in third-party organizations that could further those goals," McCaskill said in a statement.
"These financial relationships were insidious, lacked transparency, and are one of many factors that have resulted in arguably the most deadly drug epidemic in American history," she added.
The report also noted a lack of transparency, given that the advocacy groups are not obligated to disclose their donors publicly, an issue McCaskill said needs addressing.
"The financial relationships between these groups and opioid manufacturers should be clear to the general public," she said.
"Simplistic and Incorrect"
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