Purdue Pharma settles case over accusations of fuelling opioid addiction crisis
In a first-of-its-kind deal to address the addiction crisis in US, Purdue Pharma reached a $270 million settlement with the state of Oklahoma in a key lawsuit, reported AFP.
Purdue Pharma has been accused of helping fuel the addiction crisis with its painkiller OxyContin.
Hundreds of cases have been filed against Purdue Pharma across US, accusing it of being responsible for the rampant opioid crisis.
The settlement is likely to indicate the future direction of US’s fight against the opioid crisis, which kills 130 Americans everyday. Between 1999 and 2015, the deaths caused by opioid addiction have quadrupled.
With stagnating wages and reducing labour mobility, opioid addiction has dramatically altered the fabric of several towns across hinterland US.
Mexican mogul provides a sharp critique of Lopez Obrador’s statist economics
In a rare interview with the Financial Times, Mexico’s third wealthiest man, Ricardo Salinas, who is also an advisor to the country’s new populist president Lopez Obrador, provided a scathing critique of the president’s economic policies.
The recent criticism was sparked after the cancellation of a $13 billion airport project by the Obrador government. Salinas criticised the decision saying that it will hurt international and domestic investors. He also held an unfavourable view of a splurge of recent infrastructure projects proposed by the president.
Dismissing a statist economic view, Salinas said massive amounts of welfare spending have been “failures, period. There is not a single case of success”.
Salinas said his role is to provide a reality check to a government convinced of populist ideas.
New York County declares a measles outbreak emergency
After 153 cases of measles were confirmed in New York State’s Rockland County, the municipal government has barred unvaccinated children from entering public spaces, reported BBC.
Violating the order will be punishable by a fine of $500 and up to six months in prison, said the report.
The announcement follows reports of similar measles outbreaks in the states of Texas, California, Washington and Illinois.
Owing to people’s religious and philosophical beliefs, vaccination rates have been rapidly falling in the US.
In other news:
China suffers ‘natural’ slowdown, former IMF deputy chief says, Nikkei Asian Review
The path to reform looks as rocky as ever for emerging economies, Financial Times