From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Wisconsin has seen a substantial increase in addiction treatment access for inmates over the last five years, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
The group’s latest report found all 36 state Department of Corrections adult facilities allow inmates with opioid use disorder to start naltrexone or continue an existing prescription of the synthetic opioid buprenorphine. In 2021, just 13 facilities allowed any form of medication for opioid use disorder.
Between 2021 and 2024, the number of people in Wisconsin prisons receiving buprenorphine jumped from just four to 148. Over the same period, the number of those getting naltrexone rose from 44 to 154, the report shows.
And at least one form of opioid addiction medication is now available to qualifying inmates in 53 of the 65 county jails that responded to a WPF survey, or 81.5%. In 2021, just 25 or 41% had at least one of these medications available.
Meanwhile, 17 jails in the state now provide access to all three forms of these medications, also including methadone. That’s an increase from two jails in 2021.
Study authors say they can’t determine the number of overdoses avoided or how many people were able to safely reduce their opioid dependence thanks to this trend. But they maintain it’s a reasonable assumption that “these practices have likely improved health and potentially even saved lives” in Wisconsin.
While the number of overdoses among DOC inmates dropped “sharply” between 2021 and 2024, that coincided with a substantial decline in overdoses among the general population, authors noted.
The number of annual opioid deaths in the state has fallen from its peak of 1,513 in 2022 to 568 during the 12-month period ending in September 2025, CDC figures from the report show. WPF says if that estimate holds, it would be the state’s fewest number of opioid deaths since the 12-month period ending in February 2016.
And though state and county institutions have made “remarkable” progress in expanding opioid addiction medication access, authors argue there’s still room for improvement. At least eight mostly small and rural Wisconsin counties don’t provide any access to these medications, for example.
“Though these counties may face particular hurdles to taking this step, they also have potential tools to draw on, including opioid settlement funds and neighboring counties and health care providers that are already delivering this service,” authors wrote.
See the full report and see the release below.
— SHINE Technologies has entered an exclusive distribution agreement with C-Ray Therapeutics, a Chinese firm that will supply SHINE’s radiopharmaceutical products to businesses in China.
The Janesville nuclear technology business yesterday announced the distribution agreement, its latest aimed at meeting demand for nuclear medicine products in markets around the world. The announcement notes supply security “has long been a practical constraint” on radiopharmaceutical pipeline development in China.
Company CEO and founder Greg Piefer says combining C-Ray’s integrated development and manufacturing platform with SHINE’s large-scale isotope production will “help advance pipeline innovation and expand patient access to life-saving targeted radioligand therapies.”
Under the agreement, C-Ray Therapeutics will be the exclusive partner for distributing SHINE’s form of lutetium-177 in mainland China, aside from pre-existing partnerships, according to the announcement. Lu-177 is a widely used therapeutic radioisotope, used in targeted therapies for various forms of cancer.
C-Ray will supply the Lu-177 material to drug developers, biotech companies and health care institutions through its location in Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province.
See more in the release below.
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