Purdue ' s Opioid Marketing is Target of a Federal Criminal Probe

As reported by Bloomberg:Federal prosecutors in Connecticut began a criminal investigation into Purdue Pharma Inc. ’s marketing of the controversial opioid painkiller OxyContin.U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly is gathering documents about Purdue ’s claim that OxyContin provides 12 hours of pain relief. A Los Angeles Times investigation, published last year, found that Purdue ignored evidence showing the drug’s effects failed to last that long in some patients, increasing the risk of withdrawal, abuse and addiction. “Purdue is committed to being part of the solution to our nation’s opioid crisis and has been cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s investigation, " company spokesman Robert Josephson said in an email. " We will continue to do so until this matter is resolved. ”Purdue is cast as the main villain in a wave of government lawsuits seeking to hold opioid makers and distributors responsible for an epidemic now killing thousands of people and costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars annually. Ten states and dozens of cities and counties have sued companies including Purdue, Endo International Plc, and Johnson& Johnson ’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals, alleging that they triggered the epidemic by minimizing the addiction and overdose risks of painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet.Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue invented many of the aggressive marketing techniques that made OxyContin a blockbuster drug and which government lawsuits now seek to ...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: Opioids Purdue Pharma Source Type: blogs