A new report from Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) found that five opioid manufacturers paid nearly $9 million to 14 outside groups between 2012 and 2017, alleging that the advocacy groups often “amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use.”
The groups — many of which work on chronic pain and other opioid-related issues — lobbied to defeat prescriber limits on opioids and many criticized facets of 2016 guidelines that limited the prescribing of painkillers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to the report.
