The story took some 25 years in the making, involving a rich philanthropic family, several well-known large corporations, and the world’s largest consultancy. Some 500,000 people died during this epidemic and 2 million lives have been ensnared.
- The Sackler family was until recent years known for their philanthropy, donating to famous museums all over the world. Beginning in the 1940’s, Arthur Sackler made a fortune by pioneering the promotion of drugs to users and doctors.
- In 1952, Arthur Sackler and his two younger brothers, all doctors, acquired a small drug maker, which was later turned into Purdue Pharma.
- In 1984, Purdue started to sell a sustained release morphine as MS Contin in the U.S.
- In 1995, the FDA approved Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin, pure morphine with high dosage, mixed with a continuous release ingredient. It was based on the theory that this drug would not give the initial high desired by drug abusers. It also unwittingly permitted Purdue to imply that OxyContin might pose a lower risk of abuse than traditional painkillers because it was a time-release narcotic. The FDA required Purdue to provide warnings on information about OxyContin: the breaking, chewing, or crushing a tablet could release a “potentially toxic” dose of narcotic and that the risk of overdose from the drug was particularly acute for so-called “opioid naïve” patients, or those who had not taken narcotics before. The drug’s label also noted that oxycodone-containing painkillers were “common targets for both drug abusers and drug addicts.”
- Originally meant for relieving pains of terminal cancer patients, Purdue started to aggressively market OxyContin even for chronic pains.
- 2007, U.S. Justice Dept ended a 4-year investigation into Purdue Pharma, fined the drug maker $634.5 million for downplaying the abuse and addiction dangers of OxyContin. Three of its executives were fined $34.5 million.
- After this, Purdue continued to aggressively promote the drug, just avoiding saying that it is safer than other opioids.
- 2008-2018, various defendants were fined in millions of dollars for their inappropriate handling of opioid drugs.
- 2012 – OxyContin’s patent expires and ushers in generic makers.
- In 2017, due to more overdose cases, state attorneys began to investigate.
- In 2019. Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy protection with the goal of emerging as a quasi-charity that would steer all its future profits toward resolving the opioid drug epidemic. Purdue estimated the value of $8 billion over time. The Sackler family would add $4.5 billion (later increased to $6 billion) in exchange for shielding them from future civil liability.
- McKinsey advised opioid makers Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Mallinckrodt to help them increase sales, despite the growing public outcry over opioid epidemic. Settlement $573 million.
- Parties involved in the making and distribution of opioid drugs:
- Brand-name opioid makers:
o Purdue Pharma Inc.,
o Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals (to pay $5 million over 9 years),
o Endo Pharmaceuticals
o Allergan (to pay $2.02 billion over 7 years.),
o Mallinckrodt
Generic opioid makers:
Mallinckrodt’s SpecGx,
Teva Pharmaceutical (to pay $3.34 billion over 13 years),
Activis Generics (formerly Watson Pharmaceuticals)
Opioid distributors:
McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen – to pay total of $21 billion over 18 years.
Pharmacy benefits managers:
Caremark, Express Scripts, OptumRx
Pharmacies:
Walmart (to pay $2.7 billion over 6 years),
CVS (to pay $4.9 over 10 years)
Walgreens (to pay $5.52 billion in 15 years),
Costco Wholesale
COMMENTS:
In the state attorneys general lawsuit, the plantiffs charge that corporate greed trumped the public's health at every turn. Greed drove opioid manufacturers and distributors to overproduce and to oversell.
As concerns sthe justic system: Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy reseach at Heller School for Social Policy and Management, said, "If you want to prevent corporate executives and board members from taking action that can lead to a massive loss of life, the individuals who take those actions must be held individually accountable." Mr Kolodny has testified in past opioid litigations.
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