Analgesics

In this city and across the U.S., traffickers are making fentanyl, primarily produced in Mexico, the dominant substance for opioid users craving a fix. The synthetic drug is killing users who fear its strength but can’t easily find alternatives, as well as those seeking it out to feed their rising tolerance to prescription painkillers or heroin. It also is claiming the lives of people who didn’t know they were taking it. “Fentanyl has changed everything,” said Shawn Bain, a Columbus-based drug intelligence…

Endo International PLC became the latest pharmaceutical company to file for bankruptcy under the weight of lawsuits alleging it played a role in fueling the opioid crisis. The drugmaker, domiciled in Ireland with operations in Malvern, Pa., filed for chapter 11 protection Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York after struggling with more than $8 billion in debt, competition from generic manufacturers and opioid litigation. Endo said that most of its first-lien creditors have agreed to buy the…

Bob Fitzsimmons, left, and Paul Farrell, attorneys for the plaintiffs, discussed the settlement in Charleston, W.Va., on Monday. Photo: Kenny Kemp/Associated Press…

A Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. factory in Israel. Photo: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg News…

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s quarterly sales fell and earnings plunged as revenue from Covid-19 vaccinations dried up and the pharmacy chain paid out an opioid settlement.The Deerfield, Ill., drugstore chain has relied on demand for Covid-19 tests and vaccines to power sales over the past year. Demand dropped off significantly in its fiscal third quarter, as Walgreens administered 4.7 million vaccinations, down from 11.8 million in the Omicron-driven prior quarter, the company said Thursday. WalgreensBoots Alliance…

The opioid crisis has only intensified as more illicit drugs have entered the market. Drug overdose deaths reached a record high in 2021, with more than 100,000 people lost to the continuing epidemic, fueled by the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl. The drug, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times that of morphine. Illicit forms of fentanyl are mainly manufactured by drug cartels in Mexico and spreading in the U.S.What is fentanyl? Fentanyl…