Report: Drugmaker used dodgy tactics to push opioids to patients

The Hill: A major pharmaceutical company lied and bypassed normal processes to push opioids on to patients who didn't need them, according to a new report released Wednesday by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)

The report is the first product of an investigation into opioid manufacturers and distributors led by McCaskill in her role as the ranking Democrat on the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

In one example, a representative of Insys Therapeutics Inc. misled a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) into approving a payment for Subsys, a highly addictive fentanyl opioid meant to help manage cancer pain, the report says.

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