For some critics, the company’s multiple roles in the world of painkillers is troubling.

Dr. Gregory L. Jones, an addiction specialist in Louisville, Ky., said he had long been concerned about financial links between the group and the drug industry, adding that the Zohydro situation amplified those potential conflicts.

Dr. Stuart Gitlow, the current president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, said he had been unaware until now of Alkermes’s involvement with Zohydro. Dr. Gitlow, who is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, said that the group would seek more information from Alkermes about the situation and then decide what, if anything, to do next.

Officials of Alkermes appear to recognize the issue they face. In recent years, the company has been trying to increase sales of Vivitrol, a form of a drug called naltrexone, that is used to treat both alcoholism and opioid addiction.

In a statement, Rebecca Peterson, a spokeswoman for Alkermes, said the company was “evaluating its role with respect to Zohydro” as a result of the drug’s approval. She declined to elaborate.

The tie between Alkermes and Zohydro had not drawn attention because the company did not initially own the drug, nor was it apparently involved in the efforts to get it approved in the United States.