What Role Should The Pain Therapeutics Industry Play In Combatting The Opioid Epidemic?

A | PHARMA COMPANIES ARE COMING TOGETHER to share compounds with each other to collaborate and help develop safe, nonaddictive pain treatments, as well as therapies for those trying to overcome their addictions. Some companies have limited the duration of initial prescriptions to no more than a one-week supply. Prescribers need to monitor patients’ prescription histories using state prescription databases before writing a prescription to help spot “doctor shopping.” Companies need to reconsider how they sell their products, and they need to provide greater availability of and accessibility to Naloxone. While no single intervention will solve this crisis, all of these strategies together will.

MITCHELL KATZ, PH.D., has 30 years’ experience in pharma and biotech. He is VP of development operations at Ferring Pharmaceuticals.