PROVIDENCE – There were 76 billion opioid pills distributed in the United States over a seven-year period from 2006 to 2012, according to a new report from The Washington Post Wednesday.
The distribution amounted to 48.8 pills per person per year in Kent County, 33.6 pills per person per year in Washington County, 32.7 pills per person per year in Providence County, 28.3 pills per person per year in Newport County, 21.7 pills per person per year for Bristol County and 35.2 pills per person per year in Bristol County, Mass., based on data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration cited by the Post.
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Rhode Island was not even close to the highest distribution per person in the nation. In Charleston County, S.C., 248.3 pills per person per year were distributed between 2006 and 2012. In Leavenworth County, Kan., 226.5 pills per person were distributed in that time. In Mingo County, W. Va., 203 pills per person per year were distributed between 2006 and 2012.
The report said that companies distributed 36 pills for every American (adults and children) for every year of the data.
The report, using newly available data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, showed that three companies manufactured roughly 88% of all opioid pills distributed in that time and that just six companies distributed 75% of the pills in the nation, including CVS Health Corp.’s CVS Pharmacy.
The data was released by order of a judge in Ohio overseeing a lawsuit against drugmakers, wholesale distributors and pharmacies for being complicit in the opioid crisis.
The report said that CVS distributed 7.7% of pills in the U.S. in that time, or 5.9 billion pills, the fifth most in the nation of all distributors. McKesson Corp. was the largest distributor, accounting for 14 billion pills, or 18.4% of all pills in that time. McKesson was followed by Walgreens at 13 billion pills, or 16.5% pf distribution, Cardinal Health with 11 billion pills, or 14% of distribution, and AmerisourceBergen with 9 billion pills, or 11.7% of all distribution.
CVS spokesman Joseph Goode told PBN Wednesday, “The plaintiffs’ allegations about CVS Health in this matter have no merit, and we are aggressively defending against them. We maintain stringent policies, procedures and tools to help ensure that our pharmacists properly exercise their professional responsibility to evaluate controlled substance prescriptions before filling them.”
Goode said that the company dispensed more than 4.2 billion retail prescriptions during that time period and opioid medications were a very small percentage of that total, noting that CVS does not distribute Schedule II substances such as oxycodone or fentanyl.
“Keep in mind that doctors have the primary responsibility to make sure the opioid prescriptions they write are for a legitimate purpose,” he added.
The top 3 opioid pill manufacturers in the period:
- SpecGx: 37% or 29 billion pills
- Activis Pharma: 34.5% or 26 billion pills
- Par Pharmaceutical (a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals): 15.7%, or 12 billion pills.
