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Illinois Treasurer Pressures McKesson Corp. To Take Greater Action Against Opioid Abuse

Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs joined his counterparts in West Virginia and Pennsylvania to call on the McKesson Corporation to take greater action against the U.S. heroin epidemic.

The company is one of the country’s largest drug distributors and Frerichs wants it to do more to prevent drug abuse.

“Heroin addiction is tied directly to the overuse of opioid painkillers, and the overuse of opioid painkillers is tied directly to Big Pharma,” he said. “The industry needs to acknowledge and address its role in fueling this crisis if we have any hope to save people from this addiction and assured death.”

All three treasurers want McKesson, which claims it delivers one third of all medications used daily in the U.S., to make several reforms. These include changing company bylaws to create an independent board chair, identifying the financial risks opioid distribution poses to McKesson, and tying executive compensation to progress in combating the opioid epidemic. 

Frerichs and his counterparts said the states would reconsider their investments in the company if they didn't comply with the proposed reforms.