Flexion Therapeutics Sponsors a Memorial to the Victims of the Opioid Crisis to Raise Awareness of the Tragic Consequences of...
23 September 2019 - 11:00PM
Flexion Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:FLXN), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on the development and commercialization of novel,
local therapies for the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal
conditions, beginning with osteoarthritis (OA), today announced its
sponsorship of
“Prescribed to Death: A Memorial to the
Victims of the Opioid Crisis.” The national traveling
exhibit is dedicated to building awareness of the continuing opioid
crisis in the United States and was developed by the National
Safety Council (NSC) as part of the Stop Everyday Killers public
education campaign. The memorial is being presented at the
Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, NY from September 23-28, 2019
in partnership with Nassau County District Attorney Madeline
Singas, Flexion and other regional sponsors.
“We are proud to support the NSC’s emotional and essential
campaign to build broader awareness of the devastating consequences
of the opioid epidemic. This powerful exhibit calls attention to
the tragic impact the crisis is having and encourages visitors to
be aware of whether they are being prescribed an opioid and to be
empowered to seek non-opioid alternatives,” said Scott Kelley,
M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Flexion. “One area where opioid use
is surprisingly prevalent but not widely discussed is in the
management of OA related pain. Flexion is committed to developing
and commercializing novel, non-opioid treatment options for the
millions of patients who confront OA and musculoskeletal pain each
year.”
“In treating patients with OA, orthopedic surgeons are always
looking for the most effective and safest options for pain
management as a means of delaying joint replacement,” said Scott
Sigman, M.D., a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Orthopaedic
Surgical Associates. “OA is a chronic disease. Opioids are highly
addictive and when used for chronic diseases such as OA, they
present a significant risk of misuse and addiction to our patients.
Non addictive alternative options for the treatment of OA should
always be used instead of opioids to deliver the level of comfort
and safety our patients deserve.”
OA, also known as degenerative joint disease, affects more than
30 million adults living in the U.S. including at least one in six
New Yorkers.1 Literature suggests that up to 50 percent of patients
with OA are prescribed opioids as initial therapy.2 Chronic opioid
use is associated with numerous adverse effects including risk of
abuse, morbidity and mortality, and poorer long-term outcomes
following surgery. Recently, the American Association of Hip and
Knee Surgeons established a position that opioids should not be
used as a first line treatment for either acute or chronic OA
symptoms and reserved only for exceptional circumstances.
“One in four Americans has been directly impacted by the opioid
crisis, and we need to take additional steps to educate people
about the risks of opioid use,” said Lorraine M. Martin, President
and Chief Executive Officer of the National Safety Council. “The
Prescribed to Death exhibit allows people in communities throughout
the U.S. to connect with the victims of this crisis in a personal
and very informative way. We are excited to partner with Flexion,
the Nassau County District Attorney and other sponsors to bring
this important memorial and more information about the risks of
opioids to the people of Nassau County.”
For more information on the opioid crisis and the memorial
event, please visit here:
https://www.nsc.org/home-safety/get-involved/prescribed-to-death-memorial
References:
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention: State-Specific 2015
BRFSS Prevalence Estimates. Available at
https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/state-data-current.htm
Updated May 9, 2017
- Gore M et al. Clin Ther. 2011;33(12):1914-31.
About Prescribed to Death: A Memorial to the Victims of
the Opioid CrisisNSC launched Prescribed to Death – a
multifaceted exhibit aimed at changing Americans’ attitudes toward
opioids – as a part of the Council’s Stop Everyday Killers public
education campaign. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a wall of
22,000 engraved white pills. Each represents the face of someone
lost to a prescription opioid overdose in 2015, based on the most
recent overdose data available at the time of the exhibit's launch.
Since then, opioid overdose deaths have more than doubled. New York
has been hit particularly hard. More than 3,200 people in New York
fatally overdosed on opioids in 2017, and Long Island residents
accounted for more than 20% of those deaths. That year, Nassau
County alone lost 184 people to opioid overdose.
About Flexion Therapeutics Flexion
Therapeutics (Nasdaq:FLXN) is a biopharmaceutical company
focused on the development and commercialization of novel, local
therapies for the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal
conditions, beginning with osteoarthritis, a type of degenerative
arthritis. The Company's core values are focus, ingenuity,
tenacity, transparency and fun. For the past three years, Flexion
has been named one of the Best Places to Work by the Boston
Business Journal, and Flexion was recognized as a Top Place to
Work in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe in
2017 and 2018. For more information, visit
www.flexiontherapeutics.com.
Contacts:
Scott
Young
Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor
RelationsFlexion Therapeutics, Inc.T:
781-305-7194syoung@flexiontherapeutics.com
Julie DownsSenior Manager, Corporate Communications &
Investor RelationsT: 781-305-7137jdowns@flexiontherapeutics.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/25dbcb83-3cb7-42dc-bd87-09bf732062fd
Flexion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FLXN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Flexion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FLXN)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024