Posted on May 10, 2012

American Pain Foundation Closes After Senators Launch Investigation of Drugmakers

In the wake of an investigation by the Senate Finance Committee into makers of narcotic pain relievers and the groups that champion them, the American Pain Foundation, citing "irreparable economic circumstances," has decided to close its doors, ProPublica reports.

A previous investigation by the nonprofit ProPublica and the Washington Post found that 90 percent of the funding raised by APF in 2010 came from the pharmaceutical and medical-device industry and that the group's guides for patients, journalists, and policy makers had played down the risks associated with prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, and Opana. Earlier this week, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, and senior finance committee member Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent letters to pharmaceutical companies Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson as well as APF, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society, the Wisconsin Pain & Policy Studies Group, and the Center for Practical Bioethics, seeking records and correspondence documenting the links, financial and otherwise, between the various groups.

In addition to payment information dating from 1997, the senators asked about any influence the companies had on a 2004 pain guide for physicians that was distributed by the Federation of State Medical Boards; on the American Pain Society's guidelines; and on the American Pain Foundation's Military/Veterans Pain Initiative. While sales of the drugs have tripled since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving prescription painkillers has jumped, to some 14,800 in 2008 alone — more than those involving cocaine and heroin combined.

In a prepared statement, Baucus said, "When it comes to these highly addictive painkillers, improper relationships between pharmaceutical companies and the organizations that promote their drugs can put lives at risk."