OxyContinmmaker Sued By Pike and State Officials: THEY CONTEND PURDUE PHARMA RESPONSIBLE FOR PAINKIL

Oct 05, 03:33 AM

Current Headlines: By Cassondra Kirby, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

Oct. 5--PIKEVILLE -- Leaders in the drug-plagued mountains of Eastern Kentucky filed a lawsuit yesterday against the maker of OxyContin -- a painkiller so wildly popular in the Appalachians that it is known as hillbilly heroin.

With stern faces, county leaders blamed the drug for rampant crime, overcrowded jails and hundreds of overdose deaths across the state.

The lawsuit, filed by state Attorney General Greg Stumbo and Pike County officials, seeks millions in compensation from Connecticut-based drugmaker Purdue Pharma.

"We are not going to stand silent any longer and let you make billions of dollars while our people suffer," Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said yesterday at a news conference outside the Pike County courthouse.

Kentucky officials decided to pursue the lawsuit after Purdue Pharma and three of its current or former executives pleaded guilty in May to misleading the public about the drug's risk of addiction.

The plea agreement came just days after the company agreed to pay nearly $20 million to Washington, D.C., and 26 states, including Kentucky, to settle complaints that it had encouraged physicians to overprescribe the drug.

"It is ironic that those who manufacture a drug that is meant to ease the pain of those suffering from debilitating diseases ... have in fact inflicted so much pain by being deceptive and greedy with their product," Rutherford said.

The lawsuit seeks reimbursements for money spent on drug abuse programs, law enforcement efforts to combat the problem, and prescription payments through Medicaid and the Kentucky Pharmaceutical Assistance program.

The suit also calls for the creation of a court-monitored fund paid for by Purdue Pharma and used for research on the drug, plus educational programs to warn users of the medication's potential danger.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status for similarly situated counties. At least 20 have agreed to join the suit, Stumbo said yesterday. They are asking for a jury trial.

In a statement e-mailed to the Herald-Leader, Purdue Pharma officials said they should not be held responsible for those who abuse the drug.

"Abuse of OxyContin, like abuse of other prescription medicines, can cause serious injuries and even death," the company said. "Nevertheless, courts have repeatedly dismissed individuals' claims that Purdue Pharma was responsible for those individuals' own abuse and injuries resulting from it."

The company says it will "vigorously" defend the suit. "And we expect to prevail."

OxyContin, the brand name for oxycodone, is widely abused because the painkiller's slow-release effect can be circumvented by crushing and snorting the pill.

The drug has been blamed for hundreds of deaths across the country. Last year in Kentucky, 484 people died of drug overdoses, according to the state medical examiner's annual report. Of those, Oxycodone was the chief cause in 16 percent of the deaths.

In Pike County, geographically the largest county in Kentucky, at least 40 deaths were attributed to OxyContin last year, Rutherford said.

Pike County Sheriff Charles "Fuzzy" Keesee said prescription drug abuse is so rampant in the county that his jail underwent a $5.6 million expansion in 2005 to deal with the problem.

Several other county officials shared similar stories.

Officials from Estill, Floyd, Pike and Letcher counties all say the number of deaths related to OxyContin is increasing at alarming rates.

The drug can sell for as much as $90 a pill, depending on the strength of the tablet. It is responsible for all manner of crimes, particularly theft, county officials say.

"I hear from senior citizens, who actually need the drug, that have to take their medication to a bank and put it in a safe-deposit box because they are afraid of being robbed," said Estill Judge-Executive Wallace Taylor. "We have people stealing electrical wire out of businesses to sell for a fix, and even stealing brass plates from veterans' tombstones.

"This lawsuit is something that's going to make a difference in Kentucky. We need the help to move forward in combating this."

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