| Hello and happy Friday, readers! This is Sy. Health insurance giant Cigna announced that it will largely ditch coverage for OxyContin (or oxycodone), in its group health plans beginning in January 2018. “Our focus is on helping customers get the most value from their medications—this means obtaining effective pain relief while also guarding against opioid misuse,” said Cigna Chief Pharmacy Officer Jon Maesner in a statement. It’s not the first step the insurer has taken to try and reduce its plan holders’ use of addictive pain medications amid the opioid painkiller epidemic that has claimed tens of thousands of American lives in recent years alone. In fact, in May 2016, Cigna said it was aiming to cut its customers’ use of addictive opioids by 25% within three years. That’s an ambitious goal, to say the least. But, according to Cigna, the company has actually been able to pull off some impressive results to date. The health insurer reported a 12% drop in opioid prescriptions among its plan holders between April of last year and this year. So why is OxyContin the latest target? For one, the drug and its manufacturer Purdue Pharma have become the poster children for aggressive opioid marketing alongside a number of other painkiller makers. OxyContin is a powerful, extended-release medication, and Cigna argues that biopharma companies and insurers alike should shift over to drugs with abuse-deterrent properties. Read on for the day’s news, and enjoy your weekend! | 
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