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A family member of Purdue Pharma – who is being sued by more than 1,000 jurisdictions for his alleged role in treating the opioid crisis with his pain medication OxyContin – has been granted a patent for a treatment of opioids.
Dr. Richard Sackler is among the six inventors of the patent, published in January and published for the first time by the Financial Times on Friday. Critics told the FT that they were troubled by the fact that the patent could allow Sackler to financially benefit from the addiction crisis that his family's business is accused of having fueled.
Purdue has denied the claims in the lawsuits, which also target a range of other manufacturers and distributors of opioid painkillers.
The patent concerns a new formulation of buprenorphine, one of the drugs that help people with opioid dependence. It is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the form of tablets and films, but the patent describes a wafer that could dissolve more quickly than existing forms once put under the tongue.
The patent states that the faster the treatment dissolves, the less risk of diversion.
Sackler is the former president of Purdue; his father was one of three brothers who founded the company. The family has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to museums, schools and hospitals around the world, but it is increasingly being critically examined in the context of the opioid crisis. .
In addition to the more than 1,000 lawsuits filed against Purdue in cities, states, counties and tribes – most of which were merged into an Ohio federal court – Massachusetts recently named the Sackler family as an accused.
Meanwhile, Congress has asked Purdue for a copy of a Sackler statement taken in connection with a lawsuit filed by Kentucky against Purdue. The case was settled in 2015, but it is thought that this is the only time a Sackler family member has been questioned under oath about the marketing of OxyContin and what it's all about. Company knew addictive properties of the painkiller.
In a lawsuit in Kentucky, STAT also sought a copy of the statement.
The patent specification indicates that the form of buprenorphine could also be used to treat pain in humans or animals.
In addition, Purdue is working to show he is taking action to tackle the drug crisis. She has supported safer prescribing efforts and donated money to the National Sheriffs Association to buy naloxone and train law enforcement in its use. This week, he donated $ 3.4 million to a company working on a low-cost naloxone nasal spray.
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