CDC To Present New Overdose Data Readout at 3:00PM Today on CEPOP Monthly Webinar

Please join us at 3:00pm today for CEPOP’s August 2020 All-Participants teleconference, held via WebEx. We’re pleased to convene CEPOP participants this afternoon to discuss new data available from the CDC around opioid use disorders and overdose death statistics. We’ll also recap the recently concluded CEPOP-MAPDA Policy Webinar series that took a deep dive into the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic and opioid epidemic.

We’re pleased that Ms. Michelle Putnam, MPH from CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control will join us as a focus topic speaker.

View the agenda for today’s call.

CEPOP All-Participants Teleconference Logistics (August 2020)
To join WebEx, please CLICK HERE.
Or, to join via conference call:
Conference Line: (855) 244-8681
Participant Code: 126 569 1857

HHS To Dole Out $1.5 Billion in Epidemic Response

On Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of $1.5 billion in SAMHSA grant funding as part of the first tranche allocated in the State Opioid Response (SOR) and Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) programs. Over the course of two years, this program will distribute $3 billion to states and tribes for community-level responses to the opioid epidemic focused on improved access to evidence-based treatment and recovery and wraparound support offerings.

In announcing the grants, HHS Secretary Alex Azar noted, “We’re committed to a science-based approach for fighting the opioid crisis, focusing these State and Tribal Opioid Response grants on providing the gold standard for treatment: medication-assisted treatment with appropriate psychosocial services and community supports.”

Articles & Resources

HHS Newsroom – HHS Releases $1.5 Billion to States, Tribes to Combat Opioid Crisis

Research Highlights Changing Dynamics for MAT, Naloxone Access and Utilization

Last week, a series of publications were released that sought to provide greater clarity around access and utilization of products for opioid use disorder or to treat an opioid-related overdose. In the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from Pew and the Rand Corporation looked at the statistics behind buprenorphine prescribers in the United States finding that only half of those with the requisite DEA waivers having done so. Furthermore, while there is a cap on the number of patients that a waivered provider can see for these purposes, those physicians were treating far fewer than permitted. Just over half had written a prescription for buprenorphine in the two-year period of review.

An Urban Institute report also documented the steep rise in naloxone utilization over the last decade. The report notes that in from 2010 to 2018, naloxone prescribing in Medicaid rose an astonishing 71-fold from just over 3,300 prescriptions to nearly 240,000. With a variety of product types and administration routes currently marketed, the researchers encourage Medicaid programs to ensure appropriate, affordable access to products based upon patient-specific comorbidities or preferences

Articles & Resources

JAMA Network Open – Monthly Patient Volumes of Buprenorphine-Waivered Clinicians in the US

Pew Charitable Trusts – Study Shows Few Clinicians Prescribe Buprenorphine to Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

Urban Institute – Naloxone Products and Their Pricing in Medicaid, 2010-18: Trends for Opioid Overdose Reversal Drugs

FDA Announces Long-Awaited AdComm On OxyContin Post-Market Data Review

Two FDA Advisory Committees are set to convene on September 10th and 11th to discuss the long-awaited post-marketing study reports from Purdue Pharma related to the reformulation of their extended-release oxycodone product, OxyContin. The purpose of this session is to review the data related to the reformulation of the product to determine if there has been a meaningful decrease in the levels of product-specific misuse, abuse, and overdose (both fatal and nonfatal).

The public is invited to submit comments to the Public Docket through October 13, 2020 referencing docket number FDA-2020-N-0982. Any comments submitted prior to September 4th will be included in the Advisory Committee’s briefing packet.

Articles & Resources

Federal Register – Notice of Joint Meeting of the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee

What We Read Last Week

Several articles were published last week pertaining to the opioid epidemic, covering a variety of different components of the issue. Links to relevant articles are provided below.

Articles & Resources

NY Governor’s Newsroom – Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation Authorizing the Use of Life-Saving Opioid Overdose Reversal Medications by Public Entities

Bloomberg – New York Allows Businesses to Administer Opioid Overdose Drug

Annals of Internal Medicine – Management of Acute Pain from Non-Low Back Musculoskeletal Injuries

JAMA Research Letter – Therapies Offered at Residential Addiction Treatment Programs in the United States

Kaiser Health News – Drug Overdose Deaths Showed a One-Year Decline in 2018. But There’s More to the Story

ABC News – Opioid Overdose on the Rise During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Despite Telemedicine Care

PennToday – Opioid Rates for Knee Surgery Both High and Varied

Philadelphia Inquirer – Even With A License to Prescribe a Popular Addiction Treatment Drug, Many Doctors Aren’t Giving It To Their Patients

The Commonwealth Fund – The Implications of COVID-19 for Opioid-Related Mortality

Science Daily – Placenta Can Indicate How Body Responds to Opioids During Pregnancy

CBC – Fight Against Overdose Crisis Must Do More Than Target Prescription Opioids, Study Says

The Tribune India – Punjab Police Arrest Man, Son for Running Illegal Pharma-Opioids Business

Canadian Medical Association Journal – Toxicology and Prescribed Medication Histories Among People Experiencing Fatal Illicit Drug Overdose in British Columbia, Canada

Department of Treasury – Treasury Sanctions Chinese National for Shipping Fentanyl to the United States

CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report – Nonfatal Drug and Polydrug Overdoses Treated in Emergency Departments — 29 States, 2018–2019

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia – Overdose Calls Increase 24% and Higher in Some Counties During COVID

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio – Six Arrested, Charged in Multi-State Narcotics Conspiracy Responsible for Supplying Fentanyl & Cocaine to Dayton

U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey – Fourth Person Admits Trafficking High-Dosage Oxycodone Pills Related to Gloucester City Drug Ring

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio – Cleveland Postal Service Manager Accused of Distribution of Controlled Substances and Theft of Mail

This Week’s Calendar

The House and Senate have no opioid-related hearings or events scheduled at this time as they remain in August recess pending any further advances related to a comprehensive pandemic response. In the instance that there are any changes to the schedule for this week, we will make additional information available.

  • National Institutes of Health
    Managing Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    Monday, August 31; 11:00am – 12:30pm; Webinar Link
  • SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention – Drug Testing Advisory Board
    SAMHSA Drug Testing Advisory Board Meeting
    Tuesday, September 1; 10:00am; LINK

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