PA AG Announces $5 Million Settlement With Oxycontin Maker For Improper Marketing Of The Highly Addictive Drug

September 18, 2007 -- HARRISBURG - A $5,078,436 settlement has been reached with The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc. and Purdue Pharma, L.P., manufacturers of OxyContin, for improperly marketing the highly addictive pain medication to health care providers.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said the money is part of a $160 million multi-state civil lawsuit settlement to compensate state and federal Medicaid programs for damages caused by the misbranding of OxyContin from 1995 through 2005.

"Pennsylvania and other states across the country have been dealing with the consequences from the misbranding of OxyContin," Corbett said. "The abuse of prescription pain-killers like OxyContin is rapidly rising as the drug of choice among teens and young adults, leaving behind a trail of overdose deaths and crime that has a direct impact on every community."

Corbett said of the more than $5 million Pennsylvania received in the civil settlement $2,495,584 will be paid directly to the Pennsylvania Medical Assistance Program, with the balance going to the federal government to reimburse its share of the Medicaid costs.

The multi-state settlement was reached following a four-year criminal investigation by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia, in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement agencies, into claims that Purdue Pharma engaged in extensive off-label marketing of OxyContin.

Corbett said that The Purdue Frederick Company and its top three executives plead guilty to the charges of knowingly and fraudulently misbranding OxyContin as being less addictive, less subject to abuse and diversion, and less likely to cause tolerance and withdrawal problems than other pain medications.

In May 2007, Pennsylvania received $949,000 from the multi-state criminal settlement, which will be used for future public protection and enforcement activities.

Source: Pennsylvania Attorney General

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