OxyContin Maker, Executives Plead Guilty to Misleading Public About Addiction Risks

Published January 13, 2015

The Connecticut-based maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin and three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty Thursday to misleading the public about the drug's risk of addiction, a federal prosecutor and the company said.

Purdue Pharma L.P. and the executives will pay $634.5 million in fines, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said in the news release.

The plea 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.

"With its OxyContin, Purdue unleashed a highly abusable, addictive, and potentially dangerous drug on an unsuspecting and unkowing public," Brownlee said. "For these misrepresentations and crimes, Purdue and its executives have been brought to justice."

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/story/oxycontin-maker-executives-plead-guilty-to-misleading-public-about-addiction-risks