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Proprietary Pharmaceutical Data to Inform Opioid Crisis Work

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, announced Thursday that it would share proprietary data with researchers at Oklahoma State University to further the work of the new National Center for Wellness and Recovery.

(TNS) — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma announced Thursday it would share proprietary research and related data with researchers at Oklahoma State University to help them study drug addiction causes and treatments — an initiative that would support a center created through the Stamford company’s recent $270 million settlement with the state.

The partnership with OSU’s new National Center for Wellness and Recovery in Tulsa, Okla., would encompass the sharing of research molecules that the company has developed for potential new pain treatments and also give the university access to approximately 50,000 samples comprising blood and DNA drawn from patients who have participated in Purdue clinical trials since the mid-2000s. The center was launched with an approximately $200 million endowment established in the March settlement that resolved the state’s lawsuit against the company.

“The opioid addiction crisis has taken a tremendous toll on individuals, families, and communities across the nation,” Purdue Pharma CEO and President Craig Landau said in a statement. “The resulting public health challenge is complex, constantly changing, and requires input and action from multiple stakeholders, including clinicians, researchers and the entire scientific community.”

Purdue did not make Landau available for an interview. The blood work and DNA samples came from patients who agreed to share that data, according to a company spokeswoman.

Reflecting the controversy stemming from the more than 1,000 lawsuits alleging Purdue’s OxyContin marketing fueled the national opioid crisis, many observers of the company remain skeptical of its support of the OSU center.

“I think today’s press release is spin, and I think everybody knows what this is,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management. “This is money Purdue and the Sacklers (who own the company) have provided because the state of Oklahoma sued them for their role in helping to create a devastating public health crisis.”

In addition to the funds allocated for OSU, the settlement stipulated that local governments in Oklahoma receive $12.5 million for initiatives to tackle the opioid crisis.

Since 2004, more than 10,000 Oklahomans have died from a drug overdose, according to state data. In 2018, nearly 50 percent of fatal overdoses were attributed to pharmaceutical drugs, according to the office of Oklahoma’s attorney general. In the past year, prescription opioids were involved in about 80 percent of the state’s hospital admittance for non-fatal overdoses.

Purdue also allotted up to $60 million to cover litigation-related costs and fees.

Among other terms, the settlement stipulated that Purdue no longer promote opioids such as OxyContin in Oklahoma. Last year, Purdue stopped marketing its pain drugs to medical prescribers and disbanded its sales force.

The Sackler family contributed $75 million of the total allocated in the settlement for the new center.

Sackler members who own Purdue were not named as defendants in Oklahoma’s case, although eight of them have been sued by Connecticut’s attorney general and many other states and cities.

While Oklahoma settled with Purdue, it went forward with its case against Johnson & Johnson in a much-scrutinized trial that concluded last month. A verdict is expected later in the summer.

©2019 The Advocate (Stamford, Conn.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.