Idaho Recovers $652,000 in OxyContin Case

September 20, 2007 -- (Boise) - The State of Idaho has recovered $652,130 as a result of a civil settlement involving alleged misbranding of the prescription drug OxyContin, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said today. Wasden said his office and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Medicaid Division joined in a multi-state settlement with two associated businesses engaged in the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of OxyContin, an extended-release form of Oxycodone. The companies, The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc., and Purdue Pharma, L.P., are collectively referred to as Purdue.

The civil settlement follows a federal criminal prosecution in which the Purdue Frederick Company pleaded guilty in a United States District Court in Virginia to 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. Three executives of the company pleaded guilty to misdemeanor misbranding violations.

Purdue also entered into civil agreements with the federal government and 46 states, in which Purdue agreed to pay $160 million to the federal government and state Medicaid programs to compensate the Medicaid programs for damages caused by the misbranding of OxyContin from 1995 through 2005.

“I appreciate the work of our fellow states to ensure that patients are fully informed with regard to the medications that they receive," Attorney General Wasden said. "Misbranding of medications causes the unnecessary expenditure of Medicaid dollars, and I am pleased that we were able to recover this settlement on behalf of the State of Idaho and Medicaid.”

$209,231 of Idaho’s portion of the settlement proceeds will be deposited into the state’s General Fund for future appropriation by the legislature. The balance will be returned to the federal government to reimburse its share of the Idaho Medicaid costs. These funds are in addition to the $719,500 Idaho recovered in a previously announced consumer protection settlement.

The settlement also requires Purdue to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in order to monitor the company’s operations and ensure future compliance with all laws and regulations.

The state settlement team was led by the Directors of the New York, New Hampshire, Virginia, and North Carolina Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

Source: Idaho Attorney General