The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on February 26 issued new guidelines for curbing the over-prescription of opioids. Scott Gottlieb, the agency commissioner at the time, expanded the FDA’s role in fighting the growing addiction to some forms of opioids such as fentanyl.
“It takes a concerted interactive effort from many agencies to combat the opioid problem,” says Donna Meyer, director of shareholder advocacy at Mercy Investment Services, the St. Louis-based investment arm for the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas endowment, an IOA member. “We want proper governance and oversight at the pharmaceutical companies. Pharmaceutical companies should not forget the public is concerned about the opioid crisis and that it poses risks to shareholders.”
The drug companies are leaving themselves open to lawsuits and settlements similar to those the tobacco industry faced, says Miller from the UAW trust, and any settlements come out of shareholders’ pockets.