Purdue Pharma

Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of the highly addictive pain killer oxycontin, declared bankruptcy in 2019 and entered into a multibillion dollar settlement over their sales practices with the government in 2020. You can find an archive of oxycontin and the opioid crisis coverage here. Articles on this page highlight STAT’s successful lawsuit to unseal internal Purdue marketing memos, and to make public the first deposition made by Dr. Richard Sackler under oath. The crux of the issue is simple. Claims were made that oxycontin was less addictive than other similar pain medications. It was not.