Pubdate: Tue, 03 Jul 2007
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 2007 Roanoke Times
Contact:  http://www.roanoke.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368
Note: First priority is to those letter-writers who live in circulation area.
Author: Laurence Hammack
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

JUDGE IN OXYCONTIN CASE INVITES VICTIMS TO SPEAK

Prosecutors Have Already Said That Identifying Victims Of The 
Deceptively Marketed Drug Would Be Difficult

981-3239 Those wishing to speak at the July 20 hearing must notify 
the U.S. Attorney's Office in Abingdon by July 18.

Before sentencing three pharmaceutical executives for overpromoting 
OxyContin, a federal judge wants to hear from the victims of what 
prosecutors are calling one of the greatest prescription drug 
failures in U.S. history.

In an order filed Monday, U.S. District Judge James Jones said he 
will allow brief statements at a July 20 sentencing hearing from any 
of those who consider themselves a victim of Purdue Pharma's crimes.

That could include a grieving parent who lost a child to an overdose, 
an addict who emptied his bank account to pay for pills, or an 
insurance company that paid millions of dollars a year to cover 
OxyContin prescriptions.

Jones -- who has raised questions about a plea agreement that calls 
for $634.5 million in fines but no jail time for Purdue's top three 
executives -- apparently intends to hear from the witnesses before 
deciding whether to accept the agreement.

The fine is one of the largest ever assessed against a pharmaceutical 
company. But no one can say just how many people were victimized by a 
marketing campaign in which Purdue sales representatives oversold 
OxyContin's benefits while downplaying its propensity for abuse and addiction.

The way Purdue sees it, there are no victims -- at least not in the 
technical sense.

Although the company admitted to misbranding its top-selling drug, or 
having sales representatives make false representations in 
promotional pitches to physicians, Purdue never conceded that its 
crimes were the direct cause of rampant OxyContin abuse in places 
like far Southwest Virginia.

Prosecutors made no such allegations and agreed that it would be 
"legally difficult and cumbersome" to identify possible victims in the case.

To avoid such a painstaking process, Jones said in his order that he 
would hear from any of those who considered themselves to be a victim 
without determining whether they qualify as such under the Crime 
Victims Rights Act.

Those wishing to speak at the July 20 hearing must notify the U.S. 
Attorney's Office in Abingdon by July 18.

One self-described victim is BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, which 
asserted in court papers filed Monday that it is entitled to 
repayment by Purdue for the millions it shelled out for OxyContin 
prescriptions.

More than $430 million of Purdue's fines will be used to compensate 
government health care programs such as Medicaid and the Veterans 
Administration. But the plea agreement gives no such relief to 
private insurance carriers who paid millions for OxyContin 
prescriptions that were written needlessly as a result of Purdue's 
"massive fraud on the medical community," attorneys for BlueCross 
said in court filings.

BlueCross attorneys did not know of Jones' order allowing victims to 
speak at the hearing when they filed their motion, said Mark Fischer, 
a Louisville lawyer who represents the company.

But the requests made by the company go beyond what the judge's order allows.

BlueCross is the first private insurance company to enter the proceedings.

Federal authorities in Roanoke and Abingdon began an investigation of 
Purdue about five years ago, after OxyContin abuse was blamed for 
widespread crime, addiction and death in far Southwest Virginia.

In announcing the plea agreement in May, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee 
said Purdue officials knowingly misled doctors about OxyContin's 
dangers. "The result of their misrepresentations and crimes sparked 
one of our nation's greatest prescription drug failures," Brownlee said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman