Purdue Pharma's Role in the Opioid Crisis

Purdue Pharma is a pharmaceutical company that has been at the center of the opioid crisis in the United States.

The company's aggressive marketing tactics, including paying doctors to promote their opioid-based painkillers, have been widely criticized.

Purdue Pharma's most popular opioid-based painkiller, OxyContin, was released in 1996 and quickly became a bestseller.

The company's founder, Richard Sackler, was a key player in the development and marketing of OxyContin, and his family's company has been accused of prioritizing profits over public health.

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By 2019, over 1,000 lawsuits had been initiated against Purdue Pharma by state and local governments, with claims for more than $2 trillion in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case.

Purdue was well aware that OxyContin did not provide pain relief for 12 hours even before the drug went to market, but held fast to the claim of 12-hour relief to protect its revenue.

Reports of OxyContin abuse began to surface at the start of 2000, with a proactive abuse surveillance program sponsored by Purdue Pharma L.P. pronouncing OxyContin and hydrocodone the most commonly abused pain medications.

Check this out: Purdue Pharma Oxycontin Scandal

In 2003, the Drug Enforcement Administration found that Purdue's "aggressive methods" had "very much exacerbated OxyContin's widespread abuse." This was a direct result of Purdue's marketing tactics.

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in 2012 that found 76 percent of those seeking help for heroin addiction began by abusing pharmaceutical narcotics, primarily OxyContin.

Purdue was aware of reports that the pills were being crushed and snorted, stolen from pharmacies, and that some doctors were being charged with selling prescriptions, according to a confidential Justice Department report.

Over a hundred internal company memos between 1997 and 1999 included the words "street value", "crush", or "snort." This shows that Purdue was aware of the potential for abuse, but chose to ignore it.

In 2017, the city of Everett, Washington sued Purdue based on increased costs for the city from the use of OxyContin, as well as Purdue not intervening when they noted odd patterns of sale of their product.

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The Ogrosky memo is a crucial piece of evidence in the Purdue Pharma scandal. It was written by Kirk Ogrosky, Deputy Chief of the Fraud Division at the US Department of Justice, in October 2006.

The memo reveals that government prosecutors found evidence of wire fraud and money laundering committed by Purdue Pharma executives to boost sales of OxyContin. This evidence was significant enough to warrant felony charges against certain executives.

A $654m settlement between Purdue and the government over deceptive marketing claims in mid-2007 was a fraction of what prosecutors had initially sought. This suggests that the settlement was a compromise rather than a full resolution of the issue.

In 2019, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Maggie Hassan requested a copy of the memo, citing its potential to shed light on Purdue Pharma's handling of OxyContin abuse and diversion.

Worth a look: Purdue Pharma Settlement Update

Purdue Pharma has faced numerous lawsuits over the years. By 2019, over 1,000 lawsuits had been initiated against Purdue by state and local governments, with states across the USA filing claims for more than $2 trillion in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case.

In 2001, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued a statement urging Purdue to take action regarding abuse of OxyContin. He noted that while Purdue seemed sincere, there was little action being taken beyond "cosmetic and symbolic steps".

The city of Everett, Washington sued Purdue in January 2017, alleging that the company did not follow legal agreements to track suspicious excess ordering or potential black market usage. The suit also claimed that false clinics created by unscrupulous doctors used homeless individuals as 'patients' to purchase OxyContin.

Six states—Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas—filed lawsuits charging deceptive marketing practices in May 2018. By January 2019, 36 states were suing Purdue Pharma.

Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma in 2019, claiming that eight members of the Sackler family were "personally responsible" for deceptive sales practices. The company responded by saying there was a "rush to vilify".

Purdue Pharma reached a $270 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by Oklahoma in March 2019. The lawsuit claimed that the company's opioids contributed to the deaths of thousands of people.

In 2022, 55 attorneys general agreed to sign on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. The settlement would resolve litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers for their role in creating and worsening the opioid crisis across the country.

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Purdue Pharma's aggressive marketing tactics played a significant role in the opioid epidemic that swept the United States.

The company made billions in profits by providing illegal kickbacks to healthcare providers who prescribed its opioid-based painkillers.

Purdue's opioid-based painkillers, such as Oxycodone, were commonly abused and led to many people developing opioid addictions.

These addictions often progressed to heroin use, as people sought out cheaper and more accessible alternatives to prescription opioids.

Purdue's actions had devastating consequences, contributing to the opioid epidemic that ravaged communities across the United States.