A powerful painkiller sold in Argentina faces a massive demand for death in the United States – 03/25/2019

The proliferation of opiates is unhindered in the United States and is growing along with a judicial scandal. So much so that substances like the OxyContin pain reliever appear as factors in what some people call "The worst drug crisis in the history of the country." A group of more than 500 cities, counties and tribes of Native Americans have filed a mbadive lawsuit against all members of the Sackler family, who are the owners and principals of Purdue Pharma, the company who manufactures OxyContin in this country.

Unlike other trials, the lawsuit is directly charged with business owners. The judicial initiative covers 26 states and eight indigenous tribes and accuses the Sacklers of knowingly violating the law to enrich themselves, while, according to the prosecution, thousands of people are dying.

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The Sacklers owe their fortune primarily to Purdue Pharma, an unlisted company. Eight members of the same family made the choice to choose what contributed to the opium epidemic", Indicates the document presented this week to the Federal Court of Southern District of New York." This nation faces a unprecedented dependence on opioids it was initiated and perpetuated by this family, "he continues.

The defendants responded in a statement that the allegations lacked support and that they were only trying to create a state of opinionand not justice, to impute them throughout this crisis.

The situation in Argentina

In Argentina, Oxycontin is offered by Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals SRL, a laboratory in the United States that was installed in our country in 2016.

"We continue to sell it," he confirmed. Clarin Martín Gravano, general director of the laboratory, was questioned about the controversial drug.

Gravano explained that Mundipharma is a independent company of Purdue Pharma. As a result, "we do not have many reports" about what is happening in the US and "we do not communicate with them," he said.

Sources from Anmat confirmed to this newspaper that the painkiller is registered in the country, that it is sold under official prescription and that, on the official website of the body, it is informed of its components and its undesirable effects. In the United States, they preferred not to speak.

Oxycontin is a pain reliever available in tablets of 10, 20 and 40 mg. It is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe pain when the continuous administration of a pain reliever for 24 hours a day is required for a prolonged period.

"We do not sell it a lot, it's small (at the market level), for us. It is not widely used in Argentina. Each country has its peculiarities and in the United States, it takes a lot more, "he said.

Regarding the American controversy, he said that "it is not only with Oxycontin, all opioids usually produce side effects when they are misused, it's like everything: a misused product can be complex" .

Gravano stated that the product is sold in accordance with ANMAT regulations and stated: "We have not had any reports" the disadvantages of using it in Argentina. As a result, he notes that they have not evaluated the withdrawal from the market.

No donation to the United Kingdom

On Monday, the Sackler Family Foundation announced the suspension of its philanthropic donations in the UK.

"The directors of the Sackler Foundation have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend any new philanthropic donations, although they will continue to honor the commitments already made," said Theresa Sackler, president of the foundation, in a message posted on his website.

Sackler said he was "deeply saddened" by the drug crisis in the United States and strongly denied "false accusations against society and many family members".

Last week, a prestigious London museum, the National Portrait Gallery, rejected a donation of one million pounds from the Sackler Foundation. Other British cultural institutions have imitated, including the Tate Gallery.

In the United States, the Guggenheim Museum has also decided to give up the money that the Sacklers give to their philanthropic works.

The impact in the United States

President Donald Trump has declared that the opiate crisis public health emergency. Some 2.4 million Americans are addicts and 90 of them die each day.

Americans are now dying more overdoses than auto accidents. In 2017, the latest year for which data are available, the drugs caused the death of 70,000 people, and opiates were the main reason for the increase in overdose deaths.

Not only oxycodone. People killed under the effect of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, have increased by 1,000% since 2011, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another conclusion is that since 2016, the number of deaths of men is almost three times higher than that of women, especially between 15 and 34 years.

Sources: AP, La Vanguardia and Clarín

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