Opioid bill heads to Obama's desk

A bill awaiting President Obama's signature would expand medication-assisted opioid addiction treatment programs and increase access to treatments for addiction, potentially benefiting marketers of drugs such as Vivitrol naltrexone from Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS).

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted 92-2 to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S.524), intended to address opioid addiction in the U.S. The bill, passed last week in the House by a 407-5 vote, now heads to the president's desk...