OxyContin maker to plead guilty to 3 criminal charges, may pay $8 billion in fines

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle By MICHAEL BALSAMO and GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press Oct. 21, 2020

Drugmaker Purdue Pharma, the company behind the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin that experts say helped touch off an opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

The deal does not release any of the company’s executives or owners — members of the wealthy Sackler family — from criminal liability, and a criminal investigation is ongoing. Family members said they acted “ethically and lawfully,” but some state attorneys general said the agreement fails to hold the Sacklers accountable.

The company will plead guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, the officials said, and the agreement will be detailed in a bankruptcy court filing in federal court.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/AP-Exclusive-OxyContin-maker-to-plead-to-3-15663899.php

[Cyber Liberty]

Great!  Now it will be easier to make painkillers illegal.  The lives destroyed would be more than worth it.  As an ancillary benefit, the rise in suicides will help us decrease the surplus population.

[Elderberry]

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/purdue-pharma-plead-guilty-pay-154450582.html

Jef Feeley and Chris Strohm
Wed, 21 October 2020, 9:51 pm BST

The agreement calls for Purdue’s owners, members of the billionaire Sackler family, to make an immediate $225 million payment to the government and for the company to pay $250 million after its bankruptcy is concluded, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday. The remaining amount owed by Purdue will be counted toward the company’s payout to its creditors, court records show.

The deal is likely to boost Purdue’s effort to move past claims it helped spark a public-health crisis over opioids with its marketing of OxyContin. Yet the company still faces thousands of civil claims by local and state officials, for which Purdue has previously proposed a $10 billion settlement in bankruptcy court. Governments are seeking reimbursement from Purdue and others for tax dollars spent coping with the crisis, which has led to more than 200,000 U.S. overdose deaths and chronic addiction.

To cope with the tidal wave of claims, Purdue last year filed for Chapter 11 protection in bankruptcy court in New York. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, must approve the settlement with the Department of Justice for it to become final.

The drugmaker also will admit to conspiring to violate federal kickback statutes by paying sham speaker fees to doctors who ramped up OxyContin prescriptions, the government said. And Purdue will acknowledge illegally making payments to Practice Fusion, an electronic health-records company, in exchange for using the firm’s software to sway doctors into prescribing larger amounts of the opioid-based painkiller and other Purdue drugs, the government said. According to media reports earlier this year, those payments amounted to $1 million.

The $225 million civil settlement announced Wednesday resolved allegations that board members including Richard Sackler, David Sackler, Mortimer Sackler and other family members urged Purdue executives find a way to pump up OxyContin sales in 2012 when the legitimate market for opioids had contracted, the Department of Justice said.

Under a plan the family members approved, entitled “Evolve to Excellence,” Purdue sales reps stepped up their OxyContin marketing to high-volume prescribers, which resulted in the addictive pills being used in ways that were “unsafe, ineffective and medically unnecessary,” the government said.

As part of its 2019 bankruptcy case, Purdue is proposing a opioid-settlement deal worth more than $10 billion, calling for Sackler family members to hand over the company and all its assets to a trust controlled by the states, cities and counties suing it. As part of that proposal, members of the Sackler family would contribute $3 billion themselves.

[Applewood]

Instead of blaming the manufacturers, how about blaming the people who abuse these drugs?

Or maybe the hospitals that administer opioids for the least discomfort? 

True story:  I had minor surgery last year.  I told the nurse later that day I had some mild pain and requested a simple OTC Tylenol.  No can do -- I need something stronger., the nurse said.  When I told her I don't like opioids because they make me loopy, she said the drug she was administering was only "opioid-like."  Yeah right.  I was in outer space for hours afterwards.  And even worse, the drug didn't really relieve the pain.  It just made me so loopy, I didn't care.

It's just not right that manufacturers are being blamed when the real fault lies with the addict and the facilities which enable the addiction.  Meanwhile, someone with chronic pain can't get the relief he/she needs.

[Cyber Liberty]

Instead of blaming the manufacturers, how about blaming the people who abuse these drugs?

Or maybe the hospitals that administer opioids for the least discomfort? 

True story:  I had minor surgery last year.  I told the nurse later that day I had some mild pain and requested a simple OTC Tylenol.  No can do -- I need something stronger., the nurse said.  When I told her I don't like opioids because they make me loopy, she said the drug she was administering was only "opioid-like."  Yeah right.  I was in outer space for hours afterwards.  And even worse, the drug didn't really relieve the pain.  It just made me so loopy, I didn't care.

It's just not right that manufacturers are being blamed when the real fault lies with the addict and the facilities which enable the addiction.  Meanwhile, someone with chronic pain can't get the relief he/she needs.

If they can pin the blame on the manufacturers, then they can choke off the opioids at the source.  We'll teach those geriatric druggies to not mess around with all-knowing Big Brother.

More than once painkillers were out of stock, so even having a scrip won't get any painkillers for the patient.  CVS denies there is a scheme to cut people off.

[mountaineer]

Instead of blaming the manufacturers, how about blaming the people who abuse these drugs?

Or maybe the hospitals that administer opioids for the least discomfort? 

True story:  I had minor surgery last year.  I told the nurse later that day I had some mild pain and requested a simple OTC Tylenol.  No can do -- I need something stronger., the nurse said.  When I told her I don't like opioids because they make me loopy, she said the drug she was administering was only "opioid-like."  Yeah right.  I was in outer space for hours afterwards.  And even worse, the drug didn't really relieve the pain.  It just made me so loopy, I didn't care.

It's just not right that manufacturers are being blamed when the real fault lies with the addict and the facilities which enable the addiction.  Meanwhile, someone with chronic pain can't get the relief he/she needs.

Didn't you get the memo? No one is responsible for anything anymore. You're a drunk? It's Anheuser-Busch's fault. You're a junkie? It's "big pharma's" fault. You're obese? It's Hostess Ho Ho's fault (or maybe Domino's Pizza).

I was given oxycodone after having a stem cell procedure in my hip. The pill provided no relief whatsoever and made it difficult for me to sleep. After taking a few, I have most of the Rx left and will get rid of the remaining pills at this Saturday's drug take-back day.

[christian]

I tried one pill and nearly lost my hearing, i told the dr, i don't care what it does, no more for me.

[mountaineer]

I tried one pill and nearly lost my hearing, i told the dr, i don't care what it does, no more for me.

Eww, didn't know that was a possible side effect! When I had surgery in February, I asked for something other than oxycodone for pain.

[DCPatriot]

I tried one pill and nearly lost my hearing, i told the dr, i don't care what it does, no more for me.

That's what happened to Rush Limbaugh.  Obviously he had taken it more than once.

[bigheadfred]

Didn't you get the memo? No one is responsible for anything anymore. You're a drunk? It's Anheuser-Busch's fault. You're a junkie? It's "big pharma's" fault. You're obese? It's Hostess Ho Ho's fault (or maybe Domino's Pizza).

I was given oxycodone after having a stem cell procedure in my hip. The pill provided no relief whatsoever and made it difficult for me to sleep. After taking a few, I have most of the Rx left and will get rid of the remaining pills at this Saturday's drug take-back day.

I took it for three days. It made me sleep. Didn't treally help with my pain. I stopped taking it and switched to prescription Ibuprofen 800. More effective for me and no fear of addiction.

[Hoodat]

For me, the only advantage narcotics hold is for abdominal pain.  For anything else, NSAIDs and coffee are the preferred choice.