Biopharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt has expressed its support publicly regarding establishing a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) in Missouri, the location of its United States headquarters.
In an advertisement in the state’s newspapers, Mallinckrodt recently printed an open letter to Missouri residents to ask them to urge their legislators to pass the Narcotics Control Act (HB 1892) as soon as possible.
“According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, deaths from prescription drugs have more than quadrupled in Missouri over the past 10 years, creating a strain on our families and communities. Having a robust PDMP in every state is a primary recommendation of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce abuse of pain medications. As the lone state in the country without a PDMP, Missouri is missing an essential tool for fighting this serious problem,” the letter states.
Natalie Newville, the Public Information Officer for ACT Missouri, which is the statewide coalition of coalitions and one of hundreds of coalitions that has been working on crafting and revising the bill’s language for several years, has high hopes for the latest iteration of the bill’s chances of passing soon. In addition, their coalition has worked with the PDMP Now coalition on advocacy.
“The PDMP bill will help provide the quality of care, and quality of life will improve with a tool like this because, while it’s not the silver bullet, if we are going to stop heroin use and Rx abuse in our state, it will give us a tool to continue addressing the problem in Missouri,” Newville said.
The CADCA member said that her coalition is working on developing additional strategies to address prescription drug abuse in Missouri. Her coalition met with some Mallinckrodt executives at CADCA’s recent National Leadership Forum and discussed collaborating on drug disposal issues. In addition, St. Louis has been named one of the DEA 360 Strategy cities because of its heroin problem.
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