Expanding his opioid investigation, Hawley demands documents from three distributors

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is widening his investigation into the pharmaceutical industry’s involvement in the opioid abuse epidemic.

On Tuesday, Hawley issued civil investigative demands — the equivalent of a subpoena — to three major opioid distributors.

Amerisource Bergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. will be required to turn over documents to Hawley’s office pertaining to his investigation of the pharmaceutical industry.

“It has become clear that opioid distributors had opportunities to stem the tide of the opioid crisis, but instead chose to look the other way while making millions of dollars in profit,” Hawley said in a statement to The Star. “Opioid distributors will not receive a free pass from my office. I am committed to holding all parties responsible for this epidemic and working toward solutions that will protect and heal our communities.”

The subpoenas follow Hawley’s decision in June to sue three of the largest manufacturers of opioids, saying they violated state consumer protection laws by misleading doctors and consumers in misrepresenting risks posed by opioids. In August, Hawley demanded documents from seven other opioid manufacturers related to their marketing practices and their involvement with industry organizations that promote opioids.

According to Hawley’s office, 500 Missourians died from opioid overdoses or complications in 2015, and 300 more died from heroin, another drug commonly associated with opioid abuse.

Nationally, more than 64,000 people died in 2016 from drug overdoses, the majority of which were linked to opioids.

Hawley, who has been in office less than a year, is seeking the Republican nomination to take on U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat.

The opioid abuse crisis is a major priority for McCaskill. Earlier this year she launched a Senate investigation into the methods companies used to persuade physicians to prescribe their products and whether the industry downplayed the risks of addiction.

As part of her investiation, McCaskill in July requested documents from the same three opioid distributors being targetted by Hawley.

John Parker, senior vice president of Healthcare Distribution Alliance, the national trade association representing wholesale distributors like the ones being investigated by McCaskill and Hawley, said his industry understands “the tragic impact the opioid epidemic has on communities across the country.”

He said companies in his association “don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines, or dispense them to consumers.”

“Given our role, the idea that distributors are solely responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and how it is regulated,” Parker said.

Last week President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis to be a national public health emergency.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Expanding his opioid investigation, Hawley demands documents from three distributors."