Flexion Therapeutics Sponsors a Memorial to the Victims of the Opioid Crisis to Raise Awareness of the Tragic Consequences of the Opioid Epidemic Across the U.S.

• Interactive memorial developed by the National Safety Council pays tribute to more than 22,000 victims of the opioid crisis and offers resources to help stem the epidemic
• Exhibit will be on display Sept. 23-28 at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, NY

BURLINGTON, Mass., Sept. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flexion Therapeutics, Inc. 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:

1. 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
2. Gore M et al. Clin Ther. 2011;33(12):1914-31.

About Prescribed to Death: A Memorial to the Victims of the Opioid Crisis
NSC 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 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 Relations
Flexion Therapeutics, Inc.
T: 781-305-7194
syoung@flexiontherapeutics.com

Julie Downs
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
T: 781-305-7137
jdowns@flexiontherapeutics.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/25dbcb83-3cb7-42dc-bd87-09bf732062fd