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The long-running federal court case seeking to hold drugmakers responsible for the nation’s opioid crisis has a new complication: How does it deal with claims covering the thousands of babies born to addicts? Attorneys representing the children and their guardians want their claims separated from the federal case in Cleveland that involves hundreds of local governments and other entities such as hospitals. They will argue that Thursday before a federal judicial panel in New York. (Mulvihill, 11/28)

“These kids end up being robbed of a chance because of opioids and because of big pharma,” said Kevin Thompson, one of the attorneys representing the opioid babies. Thompson is pushing for the babies’ cases — there are at least 13 class-action lawsuits — to be carved out from the sprawling lawsuit in Cleveland and transferred to a federal judge in West Virginia, one of the hardest-hit states where roughly 5 percent of all babies are born dependent on opioids. On Thursday morning, a seven-judge federal panel in New York that considers jurisdictional disputes will hear oral arguments on Thompson’s request. (Demko, 11/29)

In a ruling that could have tremendous consequences for the country’s correctional system, a federal judge said this week that a Massachusetts man facing a jail sentence could not be denied access to treatment for his opioid addiction. Judge Denise J. Casper of the United States District Court in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction on Monday, saying that Geoffrey Pesce was likely to prevail in his argument that such a refusal violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and was cruel and unusual punishment. (Taylor, 11/28)

New York City is dedicating $8 million to programs aimed at stemming drug-overdose deaths in the Bronx, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. The announcement comes as the city and the New York State Department of Health wrangle over the opening of four safe-injection sites in the city and as rates of unintentional drug-overdose deaths rose for the seventh-straight year. In 2017, one New Yorker died every six hours from an overdose, according to city officials. (West, 11/28)

In the latest bid to blunt the opioid crisis, the Philadelphia City Council is considering an ordinance that would ban drug makers from giving gifts to doctors and also require all pharmaceutical sales reps to become licensed. Specifically, the ordinance, which will be reviewed at a city council health committee meeting on Friday, would require sales reps to provide city officials with materials that are slated for physicians and, possibly, undergo training. Reps would also have to pay an annual $250 licensing fee and would be prohibited from distributing copay coupons for any controlled substances. (Silverman, 11/28)

Alec Burlakoff, former vice president of sales of Chandler, Ariz.-based Insys Therapeutics, pleaded guilty to a count of racketeering conspiracy before US District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs. By agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, he could become a crucial witness at the trial in January of six former Insys executives accused of participating in the scheme. (Saltzaman, 11/28)