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Overdose deaths skyrocketed during the pandemic reaching a record 95,000 last year, new federal projections show. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the ongoing opioid crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed in a report Wednesday. Overdose deaths increased 31% from January 2020 to January 2021 compared to the previous 12-month period, which took place prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The findings are provisional and may be revised. (Ross Johnson, 8/11)

An affordable antidote for opioid overdoses has become more difficult to obtain amid a fatal epidemic, in what advocates have called a “perfect storm” with deadly consequences. After a manufacturing issue halted Pfizer’s production of the single-dose injectable naloxone in April, groups that distribute a significant amount of the lifesaving medicine say they are facing an unprecedented obstacle to reverse drug overdoses as they reach an all-time high. Organizers say the insufficient supply has been felt unequally across the country. (Kornfield, 8/11)

Purdue Pharma’s quest to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of OxyContin and its other prescription opioid painkillers is entering its final phase with the grudging support of most of those who have claims against the company. Nearly two years after seeking bankruptcy protection, the company is scheduled to appear before a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to ask for approval of its plan to reorganize into a new entity no longer controlled by members of the wealthy Sackler family, and with profits dedicated to abating the opioid crisis. (Mulvihill, 8/12)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration objected to an application from Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc. for a CBD product to be sold as a dietary ingredient, leaving a cloud of uncertainty over the booming industry for the cannabis-derived substance. The company’s bid to sell its full-spectrum hemp extract with CBD as a dietary supplement won’t be considered because of the FDA’s own prior decision to treat CBD as a drug, according to a letter posted on the agency’s website Wednesday. This shouldn’t disrupt the business of Charlotte’s Web or prevent other companies from continuing to sell such products, which already exist in a gray area without the agency’s oversight. (Kary, 8/11)

KHN: National Academies’ Report Took Pharma-Friendly Stance After Millions In Gifts From Drugmakers

To several U.S. senators, it looked wasteful, even outrageous. Every year, taxpayers pay for at least $750 million worth of expensive pharmaceuticals that are simply thrown away. Companies ship many of the drugs in “Costco”-size vials, one lawmaker said, that once opened usually cannot be resealed or saved for other patients. Yet pharma gets paid for every drop. So Congress turned to the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine for advice, given its reputation for “independent, objective reports” on such matters. The national academies’ influential report, released in February, struck physicians who’ve tracked the issue as distinctly friendly to Big Pharma. It advised against an effort to recoup millions for the discarded drugs. It concluded that Medicare should stop tracking the cost of the drug waste altogether. (Jewett, 8/12)