Dive Brief:

• The newly formed Allied Against Opioid Abuse coalition aims to educate the pharmaceutical supply chain, care providers, pharmacists, patients and their families about the "rights, risks and responsibilities" involved in opioid use, according to a press release.
• The coalition includes the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA), the Caregiver Action Network (CAN), Mental Health America (MHA), National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) and the PA Foundation.
• According to an AAOA spokesperson, the coalition is "focused entirely on awareness and education. Ultimately our goal is to prevent the misuse that occurs by making them more aware."

Dive Insight:

While distributors are just one link in the pharmaceutical supply chain, their participation in the AAOA could make a huge difference as all facets of the opioid crisis come together to find a solution.

Many believe distributors played a big part in helping to create the crisis, so much so that some states are suing pharmaceutical distributors. A month ago, Supply Chain Dive reported that the HDA is fighting legal claims that its members are largely responsible for the opioid crisis.

Now the HDA is involved in an aggressive education and awareness effort to help mitigate the epidemic, which could be a push to repair a damaged reputation.

Furthermore, the AAOA spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive the HDA "is providing the initial funding for the development of the organization."

While that may signal guilt on the part of some of the HDA's members, it does demonstrate a sincere push — backed with funding for the AAOA — to stop opioid abuse. It also shows that distributors know that drug supply chains helped enable the crisis, and now they're stepping up to alleviate it.