What is OxyContin?
It is the brand name of an opioid painkiller that contains oxycodone hydrochloride. OxyContin was approved by the FDA in 1995 and launched into the market in 1996 by Purdue Pharma. It is an extended-release formulation that gives pain relief for 12 hours.
What does OxyContin do?
OxyContin is a very strong opioid painkiller, used for severe pain when other pain medicines did not work.
What are the major side effects of OxyContin?
OxyContin have some common side effects like constipation, nausea, and dry mouth. But it has lots of serious side effects, such as
- Respiratory depression
- Changes in heartbeat
- Hallucinations
- Seizures
What was the OxyContin crisis or Opioid Epidemic?
OxyContin was marketed as a safe, long-lasting opioid pain medicine. Unrestricted prescription of this medicine created a dependency on this drug. That led to the opioid crisis in the market. Over 600000 people have died in the USA since the late 1990s due to an overdose of opioids.
What role does Purdue Pharma play in the opioid epidemic?
False Claims: Despite being highly addictive in nature, they claimed OxyContin is totally safe, as the slow release of the drug reduces the risk of addiction. The 12-hour pain relief claim was false too.
Aggressive Promotion: The sales team was promoting false claims to the doctors and patients as well. Doctors were paid for prescribing their medicine.
Blaming Patients: Patients were blamed for opioid drug addiction. The pharma company claimed misuse is the main cause of addiction.
OxyContin transformed Purdue Pharma from a small-to-midsize business into a massive pharma company, generating over $35 billion in cumulative revenue and making the Sackler family one of the richest in America.
What has happened to the Sackler family?
The Sackler family faced massive legal and public disputes due to their ownership of Purdue Pharma. Legal outcomes are
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Family members will contribute up to $7 billion over 15 years to resolve opioid lawsuits.
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Sacklers permanently gave up all ownership and control of Purdue Pharma. It will be dissolved and transitioned into a public benefit corporation.
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Family members are legally banned from manufacturing or selling opioids in the United States again.
But the irony is that despite the heavy penalties and huge public backlash, individual family members did not face any criminal charges. If they aren’t accountable for hundreds of thousands of lives across America, then who is?
What do you think? Share your view.
MBH/PS