Misleading marketing claims fuel tapentadol prescriptions

Abstract

Section snippets

Industry-funded studies

Since tapentadol's introduction in 2008, Grünenthal, its licensees, or researchers who receive funding from these companies have published articles suggesting tapentadol causes less dependence, addiction, or abuse.The Examination sent five of the studies to medical experts who identified a variety of shortcomings. A 2014 CNS Drugs review by Grünenthal employees claimed the “reduced dependence seen with tapentadol” might be due to its dual mechanism, but experts said there was no evidence for

Promoted as less addictive

Company employees have perpetuated misleading messages about the drug. At least seven former Grünenthal employees in Germany and the UK promoted tapentadol as less likely to cause dependence.One pharmaceutical representative who left Grünenthal in 2023 after 6 years and did not want to be named out of fear for her career, said Grünenthal taught sales representatives to promote the drug to doctors as less likely to cause dependence using study data, written materials, and seminars. Lack of

“It's pure nonsense”

A video on Grünenthal's educational site for health-care professionals across Latin America featured Silvia Allende-Pérez, head of a public pain clinic in Mexico and former Grünenthal employee. In it, she promoted tapentadol and its “advantages over other opioids”, and included a Grünenthal-branded slide claiming tapentadol has a “minimum potential of abuse”. The slide also said “respiratory depression, not reported” despite this condition being a well known side-effect of opioids. Grünenthal

Escalating harms

Tapentadol sales and prescriptions have risen around the globe in recent years in at least ten countries, including Germany, the USA, and Mexico, according to data collected by The Examination. In Spain, tapentadol prescriptions have now surpassed oxycodone. In Australia, tapentadol has become the most prescribed opioid and CSL Seqirus, which holds the licence, boasted last year that it was the “only opioid with consistent growth”.

Simon Gill, a pharmacist and independent