Alkermes’ Marketing of Vivitrol Targeted by U.S. Senator

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), wants Alkermes to provide information on its opioid treatment marketing campaign that academic drug researchers have called unethical and misleading.

In a letter to the company, Harris cited media reports about Alkermes’ “aggressive lobbying and marketing campaign” to promote its Vivitrol (naltrexone) opioid blocker in competition with cheaper treatment alternatives such as methadone and buprenorphine.

Harris asked for a list of judges and drug courts to which the company has assigned salespeople , a list of jails and prisons where the company has provided free shots of Vivitrol to inmates, information about lobbying activity and speaking fees paid to prescribers, and other materials.