Purdue Pharma’s Sales Pitch Downplayed Risks Of Opioid Addiction

Purdue Pharma’s Sales Pitch Downplayed Risks Of Opioid Addiction
In 2007 in the United States, the company pleaded guilty and agreed to pay more than $600 million in fines for misleading the public about the risks of OxyContin. In Canada, Purdue faces just one class-action lawsuit for $20 million.REUTERS/George Frey
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Two decades ago, Purdue Pharma produced thousands of brochures and videos that urged patients with chronic pain to ask their physicians for opioids such as OxyContin, arguing that concerns over addiction and other dangers from the drugs were overblown, company records reveal.

Kaiser Health News earlier this year posted a cache of Purdue marketing documents that show how the pharmaceutical company sought to boost sales of the prescription painkiller, starting in the mid-1990s.