News
Medical Alert: OxyContin
False Promotion of OxyContin by the Purdue Frederick Company Inc.On May 10, 2007, the FDA reported that The Purdue Frederick Company Inc had pled guilty in the United States to felony charges of misbranding the painkiller OxyContin, a powerful prescription pain reliever, with the intent to defraud and mislead. Purdue had agreed to pay more than $634 million to resolve criminal charges, restitution to government agencies and other civil liabilities.
The charges included several illegal schemes to promote, market and sell OxyContin as being less likely to cause abuse, addiction, tolerance and withdrawal than other pain medications. In particular, it is reported that Purdue trained its sales representatives to make false representations to health care providers about the difficulty of extracting oxycodone, the active ingredient, from the OxyContin tablet thereby decreasing the potential for abuse, and that a lack of euphoria rendered it less addictive than immediate-release opiates and morphine. In addition, Purdue falsely labeled OxyContin as providing "fewer peaks and valleys than with immediate-release oxycodone," and falsely represented that patients taking lower dosages of the drug can always be discontinued abruptly without suffering withdrawal symptoms or tolerance.
We are investigating legal claims against the manufacturers of OxyContin for false promotion of the drug in Canada.
Should you or a loved one have been prescribed OxyContin, please contact Martin Willemse of our firm at (604) 583-2200.