Health News
- Pike County Settles Its Part Of Oxycontin Lawsuit Against Purdue Pharma For $4 Million; State Remains A Plaintiff
Officials of Pike County, Kentucky, announced this week that Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, will pay $4 million to settle the county's part of a lawsuit the county and state filed in 2007 seeking damages for the addiction OxyContin caused...
- Fda Requires Oxycontin Pills To Be Non-crushable To Deter Abuse
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it would block generic, crushable versions of OxyContin from coming to the market and approve the reformulated, non-crushable OxyContin, which deters abuse of the powerful painkiller. U.S. Senate...
- Fda Could Require Tamper-resistant Painkillers; Without Such Action, Prescription-drug Abuse Problem Would Worsen
UPDATE, Jan. 14 : Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal reports, "Addicts by the scores used to get a quick and easy high from snorting or shooting up the powerful narcotic OxyContin ? until manufacturer Purdue Pharma developed a new version that?s harder...
- Painkiller Epidemic Was Driven In Part By Drug Makers' Financial Relationships With Researchers Who Discounted The Risks
For almost a decade, medical officials and experts claimed OxyContin rarely posed problems of addiction for patients. The drug's label, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, said addiction risks were small. Research published...
- Fla. Governor Agrees To Implement Prescription Drug Monitoring
"Florida Gov. Rick Scott reversed course Thursday and said he will allow a prescription drug monitoring program that Kentucky officials have demanded to help block the flow of illegal prescription drugs coming from the Sunshine State," the Lexington Herald-Leader...
Health News
Conway says ruling in his Oxycontin lawsuit means he will seek settlement of $100 million or more
Attorney General Jack Conway says he wants Purdue Pharma to settle for $100 million or more after it missed a deadline to respond to his arguments in his lawsuit over the marketing of Oxycontin, Nick Strom reports for cn|2, a news service of Time Warner Cable. After Purdue Pharma failed to respond to a court motion, "all the admissions the commonwealth sought in the case were deemed admitted" by the circuit judge hearing the case in Pike County.
"Judge Steven Combs ruled Monday that Purdue could not withdraw those admissions which include that the drug maker: misrepresented and/or concealed the addictive nature of OxyContin, knew OxyContin was being abused and wasn?t being used for its stated purpose, continued to market and promote OxyContin despite knowing that, and encouraged physicians to overprescribe the drug," Storm reports. Conway told him, "I expect that a jury would be very very harsh on Purdue Pharma. I?m not going to be really negotiating much less or below nine figures. I want to see something well into nine figures.? (Read more)
Purdue Pharma has been blamed for starting, in Central Appalachia, the national epidemic of prescription-painkiller abuse and deaths. More than 1,000 Kentuckians die each year from prescription overdoses, the sixth highest rate in the country. Forbes ranked the Kentucky as the fourth most medicated state, according to Conway's office. More Kentuckians die from overdoses than in traffic accidents. (Read more) Map by Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet:
"Judge Steven Combs ruled Monday that Purdue could not withdraw those admissions which include that the drug maker: misrepresented and/or concealed the addictive nature of OxyContin, knew OxyContin was being abused and wasn?t being used for its stated purpose, continued to market and promote OxyContin despite knowing that, and encouraged physicians to overprescribe the drug," Storm reports. Conway told him, "I expect that a jury would be very very harsh on Purdue Pharma. I?m not going to be really negotiating much less or below nine figures. I want to see something well into nine figures.? (Read more)
Purdue Pharma has been blamed for starting, in Central Appalachia, the national epidemic of prescription-painkiller abuse and deaths. More than 1,000 Kentuckians die each year from prescription overdoses, the sixth highest rate in the country. Forbes ranked the Kentucky as the fourth most medicated state, according to Conway's office. More Kentuckians die from overdoses than in traffic accidents. (Read more) Map by Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet:
- Pike County Settles Its Part Of Oxycontin Lawsuit Against Purdue Pharma For $4 Million; State Remains A Plaintiff
Officials of Pike County, Kentucky, announced this week that Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, will pay $4 million to settle the county's part of a lawsuit the county and state filed in 2007 seeking damages for the addiction OxyContin caused...
- Fda Requires Oxycontin Pills To Be Non-crushable To Deter Abuse
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it would block generic, crushable versions of OxyContin from coming to the market and approve the reformulated, non-crushable OxyContin, which deters abuse of the powerful painkiller. U.S. Senate...
- Fda Could Require Tamper-resistant Painkillers; Without Such Action, Prescription-drug Abuse Problem Would Worsen
UPDATE, Jan. 14 : Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal reports, "Addicts by the scores used to get a quick and easy high from snorting or shooting up the powerful narcotic OxyContin ? until manufacturer Purdue Pharma developed a new version that?s harder...
- Painkiller Epidemic Was Driven In Part By Drug Makers' Financial Relationships With Researchers Who Discounted The Risks
For almost a decade, medical officials and experts claimed OxyContin rarely posed problems of addiction for patients. The drug's label, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, said addiction risks were small. Research published...
- Fla. Governor Agrees To Implement Prescription Drug Monitoring
"Florida Gov. Rick Scott reversed course Thursday and said he will allow a prescription drug monitoring program that Kentucky officials have demanded to help block the flow of illegal prescription drugs coming from the Sunshine State," the Lexington Herald-Leader...