http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18591261/wid/11915773?GT1=10008 OxyContin maker misled on addiction risks Purdue Pharma and former executives to pay $634.5 million in fines May 10: NBC's Pete Williams reports on three former executives who pleaded guilty Thursday to misleading the public about OxyContin's risk of addiction. ROANOKE, Va. - The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin and three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty Thursday to misleading the public about the drugâs risk of addiction, a federal prosecutor and the company said. Purdue Pharma L.P., its president, top lawyer and former chief medical officer will pay $634.5 million in fines for claiming the drug was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said in a news release. The plea agreement comes two days after the Stamford, Conn.-based company agreed to pay $19.5 million to 26 states and the District of Columbia to settle complaints that it encouraged physicians to overprescribe OxyContin. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A painkiller, addictive? Whoda thunk. Those poor exec's, faced with fines.....how mean spirited . I'll bet those poor execs are just devestated, to be called up for misleading the public, lyeing about clinical trials and being persecuted for trying to help people. Poor execs. Awwww. Why cant people just leave those poor ruthless executives alone, there just doing there job. They dont harm anyone, from there criminal oversights......honest. Awww. They was just trying to help.
Clearly, you've never had a dislocated hip. That being said, these people really push the limits with legality, and commonsense, given the basic structure and function of all known effective "actual" painkillers. Not talking about paracetomol here, or an aspirin, this is far bigger bucks than that. There stuff might work, but looking at the regulated impact of most potential pharma products over time, they might as well be tobacco corp execs, thats the honest truth. The only real difference, is its actually "possible" they "thought" they were doing good.