Laboratory accused of causing thousands of deaths with painkiller pays first deal for $ 270 million – 03/27/2019

The pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma on Tuesday agreed to pay $ 270 million to the state of Oklahoma. It's him first agreement of the company with a state to resolve one of more than 1,600 lawsuits filed for his alleged liability aggravate the opiate crisis in the United States.

Purdue Pharma is the manufacturer of OxyContin, a powerful badgesic also sold in Argentina, offered by another laboratory, Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals SRL, and registered by ANMAT.

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The resources donated by Purdue Pharma will be used to fund Oklahoma's investigation and treatment of addiction and the payment of court fees, NPR public radio said.

"We view this agreement with Oklahoma as an extension of our commitment to help find solutions to the opiate addiction crisis," said CEO Craig Landau in a statement.

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Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family, will also support the creation of the $ 177.5 million National Center for Addiction Treatment and Treatment at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa.

"The agreement reached will provide badistance to people across the country who desperately need these services," the Sacklers said in a separate statement.

The New York Newspaper The Wall Street Journal revealed earlier this month that Purdue Pharma study declare bankruptcy, which would seek to paralyze the more than 1,600 processes engaged against it by cities, counties and states of the country Misleading Advertising Allegations to Increase Your Opiate Sales.

According to local media, the company has already entered into agreements with other states, such as West Virginia in 2004 and Kentucky in 2015. But agreement with Oklahoma is the first of the recent wave of litigation against Purdue.

Tuesday's agreement is the result of a lawsuit filed two years ago by Oklahoma's Attorney General, Mike Hunter, alleging that the drug company had participated in the opiate crisis. with an aggressive sales campaign for oxycodone and misleading claims that denied the dangers of addiction.

"This agreement is only the first step in our ultimate goal of ending this nightmarish epidemic," Hunter said at a press conference.

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"In the coming weeks, the team and I will continue to prepare for the 24-hour trial, during which we intend to hold other accused accountable for their actions in this case. for their role in creating the worst public health crisis that our state and nation have seen, "continued Hunter.

According to NPR, Hunter has claimed more than $ 20 million in damages in proceedings against Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical companies.

This Monday, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma rejected a call presented by several opiate manufacturers with whom they sought to delay a public lawsuit against them, which should begin in May.

In the United States, overdoses related to opioids caused more than 47,000 deaths in 2017, 36% of which included prescription drugs.

Source: EFE

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