Pubdate: Wed, 09 Feb 2005
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2005, The Tribune Co.
Contact:  http://www.tampatrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446
Note: Limit LTEs to 150 words
Author: Elaine Silvestrini, Tampa Tribune
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

OXYCONTIN'S MAKER CLEARED IN SUIT OVER SALES TACTICS

TAMPA - A federal jury on Tuesday found in favor of the maker of the drug 
OxyContin, ruling against a former sales representative's claims that the 
company wanted her to break the law.

With the jury's verdict, Karen White, of Lakeland, lost her lawsuit against 
Purdue Pharma Inc. in which she alleged she was fired Aug. 12, 2002, 
because she refused to break the law by pushing doctors to prescribe high 
doses of the potent pain pill.

Attorneys for Purdue Pharma denied that the company's marketing practices 
were illegal, and they argued White was fired because of her poor sales 
numbers.

White's attorney, Robert McKee, had asked jurors to award White $138,000 in 
lost wages plus five times that amount, or $690,000, for emotional pain. 
After the verdict, McKee said he and White would consider appealing.

Several jurors approached after the verdict declined to speak to a reporter.

In a written statement, the company said, "Today's verdict vindicates 
Purdue Pharma. The false claims made against us now have been formally 
rejected by a court of law. We appreciate and applaud the jury's diligence 
and commitment to finding the truth. We remain committed to serving 
physicians and the patients in their care by providing innovative 
prescription and non-prescription products and promoting them in an ethical 
way."

White said she was disappointed. "It was definitely a David versus Goliath 
fight," she said, noting that she had just one attorney who went up against 
numerous lawyers for Purdue. "I was definitely the underdog going in."

"They have unlimited resources," McKee said. "I bet they spent half a 
million dollars defending this case. ... They make over $1 billion a year 
on this product. They're going to spend what they need to spend to defend 
this product."

McKee said the cost to White "definitely [was] less than $50,000."

Purdue Pharma attorneys declined to say how much the company spent. 
Attorney Pat Lowry said, "Obviously this is a case that Purdue took very 
seriously because of the nature of the allegations."

During closing arguments Tuesday morning, McKee said White refused to go 
along with Purdue Pharma's marketing practices, which required sales 
representatives to push doctors to write prescriptions for high doses of 
the drug.

"She had some concerns about promoting megadoses of this powerful product," 
McKee told jurors. "Purdue would have you believe it was on a mission to 
relieve people of their pain. ... Purdue, with its aggressive marketing 
program, was on a mission to relieve people of their money.

"This marketing system was corrupt," he said. "It was corrupted by money, 
corrupted by greed, and this lady refused to go along."

Purdue attorney Gordon Smith told jurors that White never was asked to 
break the law. He said the company worked with her for 4 1/2 years to 
improve her performance, which failed to keep up with national averages.

Smith said White lost her job because she had "a personal disagreement with 
promoting the drug in an entirely legal way" and because her sales 
abilities were poor.

Smith said the company worked to educate doctors about how OxyContin can be 
helpful in higher doses and to overcome physicians' unnecessary worries 
about writing such prescriptions. The drug, he said, was "not getting to 
patients who need what OxyContin was made for - for the more serious pain."

Smith said it would not make sense to push unnecessary doses of the drug 
because that would lead to unhappy patients and doctors and would hurt the 
company's sales in the long run. "What you want is to have doctors who are 
pleased because their patients are pleased," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth