Opioid Epidemic: What can investors do?

Opioid addiction has become a disease that has destroyed the lives and families of millions of everyday working Americans. The epidemic is not abating.  With increasing frequency, new headlines emerge as the problem grows in scale and the consequences become ever more devastating. New data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse shows there were over 72,000 estimated overdose deaths last year, a 10% increase on the prior year. These estimates mean the problem is more deadly than gun violence, car crashes and AIDS.

In addition to the human cost, the massive economic cost grows daily. For example, the U.S. Center for Disease Control reports that opioids have cost the American workforce the largest portion of labor since the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. A recent report from Ohio State University also documents that the crisis is costing Ohio more than the state’s annual budget for k-12 education.

Over the last year, SGI has been working with Investors for Opioid Accountability, an initiative that joins ICCR members with other investors to engage corporations who have profited from this epidemic. We engage pharmaceuticals producers, distributors, and retailers. We believe that companies that have acted negligently should be held to account. However, we do not believe that opioid producers and distributors should be the only stakeholders considered when tackling this issue. Opioids are effective pain killers that are commonly prescribed for acute and chronic pain. To fully address the issue, we believe that regulators, pharmacists, insurers, point-of-care providers and users all have a role to play.

In 2018, IOA members filed 35 resolutions at the following 11 companies: Alkermes; Amerisource Bergen (ABC); Cardinal Health (CAH); Depomed; Endo; Insys Therapeutics; Johnson & Johnson (JNJ); Mallinkrodt; McKesson; Pfizer; Walgreens.

Below are outcomes for the resolutions that went to a vote:

• ABC – 62% of indep. votes for board risk report
• ABC – 52% of indep. votes for clawback
• ABC – 49% of indep. votes for indep. chair
• Pfizer – 25% for indep. chair
• Pfizer – 33% corporate lobbying disclosure
• JNJ –17.8% for stop exclusion of legal costs in executive compensation
• Depomed – 62.5% for board risk report
• McKesson – 39% corp. lobbying, 34% accelerated vesting, 1% GAAP, 12% withhold Audit chair
• Rite Aid – 56.7% for board risk report

An additional 13 resolutions were settled:

• CAH: Cardinal separates chair and CEO ahead of meeting 
• JNJ: Indep. chair annual review of combined roles
• ALK: Board agreed to expand corporate lobbying expenditure disclosure
• CAH: Board published risk report, misconduct clawback and separated chair & CEO
• DEPO: Board agreed to misconduct clawback
• ENDO: Board agreed to risk report, misconduct clawback and expand political spending reporting
• MCK: Board agreed to continued reporting on anti-diversion efforts
• MNK: Board agreed to misconduct clawback and expand political spending reporting, Board elected to sell opioid business
• Insys: Board agreed to misconduct clawback

Next year, we will have even more filings regarding this important issue. It is our hope that more SGI members can become involved in this work so critical to many communities across the U.S.