Health News
- Rogers, Other Drug-caucus Chair File Bill To Reverse Fda's Approval Of New Painkiller; Competing Company Has Alternative
Illustration from PainAndDepression.comU.S. Reps. Hal Rogers of Somerset and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts have introduced a bill to withdraw federal approval of a new formulation of hydrocodone that is highly addictive and produced in crushable pills,...
- 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...
- 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...
Health News
Pike court will keep lawsuit county and attorney general filed against Purdue Pharma over damage done by its OxyContin
A state court will hear the Kentucky attorney general's 2007 lawsuit against OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, against the wishes of the company. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed a lower court's order returning the suit to Kentucky from New York's Southern District, where Purdue wanted the case heard. The suit was filed in Pike Circuit Court, in Kentucky's easternmost county.
"After years of delay tactics, Purdue will now answer to a Kentucky court and a Kentucky jury," Attorney General Jack Conway said. Purdue Pharma spokeswoman Libby Holman said the company is disappointed by the decision, but now it is "fully prepared to vigorously defend this action on its merits, and we expect to prevail."
Then-AG Greg Stumbo and Pike County sued Purdue Pharma in October 2007, alleging that the company's "aggressive and deceptive marketing campaign saddled taxpayers with millions of dollars in social, health care and other costs," Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal in Louisville reports. The suit also alleges the company misled health-care providers, consumers and the government about the highly addictive nature of OxyContin. The suit is largely based on admissions of guilt made by the company and several top-ranking company officials in a May 2007 Virginia federal court settlement. Purdue Pharma, its president, chief legal counsel and former medical director pleaded guilty to misleading doctors, regulators and patients about OxyContin during that case.
The nation's prescription-drug epidemic apparently began in the region, largely because of the introduction and high rate of prescription of OxyContin. Kentucky has nearly 1,000 overdose deaths a year. Conway's office said the suit against Purdue Pharma seeks reimbursement for drug-abuse programs, law-enforcement actions and prescription payments through Medicaid and the Kentucky Pharmaceutical Alliance Program. (Read more)
"After years of delay tactics, Purdue will now answer to a Kentucky court and a Kentucky jury," Attorney General Jack Conway said. Purdue Pharma spokeswoman Libby Holman said the company is disappointed by the decision, but now it is "fully prepared to vigorously defend this action on its merits, and we expect to prevail."
Then-AG Greg Stumbo and Pike County sued Purdue Pharma in October 2007, alleging that the company's "aggressive and deceptive marketing campaign saddled taxpayers with millions of dollars in social, health care and other costs," Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal in Louisville reports. The suit also alleges the company misled health-care providers, consumers and the government about the highly addictive nature of OxyContin. The suit is largely based on admissions of guilt made by the company and several top-ranking company officials in a May 2007 Virginia federal court settlement. Purdue Pharma, its president, chief legal counsel and former medical director pleaded guilty to misleading doctors, regulators and patients about OxyContin during that case.
The nation's prescription-drug epidemic apparently began in the region, largely because of the introduction and high rate of prescription of OxyContin. Kentucky has nearly 1,000 overdose deaths a year. Conway's office said the suit against Purdue Pharma seeks reimbursement for drug-abuse programs, law-enforcement actions and prescription payments through Medicaid and the Kentucky Pharmaceutical Alliance Program. (Read more)
- Rogers, Other Drug-caucus Chair File Bill To Reverse Fda's Approval Of New Painkiller; Competing Company Has Alternative
Illustration from PainAndDepression.comU.S. Reps. Hal Rogers of Somerset and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts have introduced a bill to withdraw federal approval of a new formulation of hydrocodone that is highly addictive and produced in crushable pills,...
- 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...
- 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...