STAMFORD, Conn., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- With the dismissal of 20 cases in Texas on March 28, the total number of product liability cases against Purdue Pharma L.P. involving OxyContin(R) (oxycodone HCl controlled-release) Tablets that have been either dismissed by courts or withdrawn by plaintiffs reached 306. 290 cases remain. 108 of the 306 lawsuits have been either dismissed or withdrawn with prejudice, meaning that the claims in them can never be made by the plaintiffs against Purdue Pharma again. Plaintiffs retain the right to re-file the cases that have been dismissed without prejudice.
“That more than 300 lawsuits -- many involving multiple plaintiffs represented by skilled and experienced personal injury lawyers -- have been dismissed or withdrawn without any finding of liability against us represents a significant milestone in the course of this litigation,” noted Howard R. Udell, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Purdue Pharma, the Stamford, Connecticut-based distributor of OxyContin. “The claims made in them -- that we engaged in misconduct or that individuals using our product properly were injured -- simply are not true.
“It is also significant that, for the first time since these cases began in April, 2001, fewer lawsuits remain pending than have been dismissed by the courts or withdrawn by the plaintiffs. We believe that we have turned the corner in this litigation and that the remaining cases will end in our favor as well.
“Defending these lawsuits requires great effort and dedication. At no point has our confidence wavered, either in our product or in the manner in which we promoted its use. We have paid nothing to settle any of the private product liability cases that have been withdrawn or dismissed and no verdict has been entered against the company in any OxyContin case. We feel both gratified and vindicated by these results.
“The overwhelming weight of these legal outcomes is important to us as a company, but it is important for other reasons as well. The fanfare surrounding many of these lawsuits had great potential to harm innocent patients who might be frightened into disregarding the medical judgment of their healthcare professionals. We feel the interests of innocent patients also are being protected as these baseless lawsuits fail,” Udell concluded.
A survey released in July 2003 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce demonstrated that lawsuits about prescription medications cause some patients to stop taking the medications prescribed for them by healthcare professionals. In a statement issued at the time, Lisa A. Rickard, President of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, which sponsored the survey, said: “Plaintiff lawyers’ addiction to lawsuits has changed the way doctors prescribe, pharmacists dispense and patients use medicine. A troublesome pattern is emerging -- with even the fear of litigation interfering with the way healthcare professionals practice medicine.”
Purdue Pharma’s record with respect to plaintiffs’ motions for class certification in OxyContin product liability cases stands on equal footing with its record as to dismissals and withdrawals. In state and federal courts around the country, class certification in OxyContin-related litigation has been denied in written opinions on 9 occasions. After nearly four years of litigation, in every state and federal case except one in which the issue has been decided, the courts have concluded that class treatment is inappropriate for OxyContin cases. In the lone case that ruled the opposite way, the trial court was later reversed by that state’s supreme court, and the class decertified.
In 2004, Purdue Pharma paid to resolve a lawsuit brought by the Office of the Attorney General in West Virginia. By agreement of the parties, Purdue Pharma made no admission of wrongdoing.
The professional product labeling for OxyContin(R) Tablets contains the following boxed warning:
WARNING:
OxyContin is an opioid agonist and a Schedule II controlled substance with an abuse liability similar to morphine.
Oxycodone can be abused in a manner similar to other opioid agonists, legal or illicit. This should be considered when prescribing or dispensing OxyContin in situations where the physician or pharmacist is concerned about an increased risk of misuse, abuse, or diversion.
OxyContin Tablets are a controlled-release oral formulation of oxycodone hydrochloride indicated for the management of moderate to severe pain when a continuous, around-the-clock analgesic is needed for an extended period of time.
OxyContin Tablets are NOT intended for use as a prn analgesic.
OxyContin 80 mg and 160 mg Tablets ARE FOR USE IN OPIOID-TOLERANT PATIENTS ONLY. These tablet strengths may cause fatal respiratory depression when administered to patients not previously exposed to opioids.
OxyContin TABLETS ARE TO BE SWALLOWED WHOLE AND ARE NOT TO BE BROKEN, CHEWED, OR CRUSHED. TAKING BROKEN, CHEWED, OR CRUSHED OxyContin TABLETS LEADS TO RAPID RELEASE AND ABSORPTION OF A POTENTIALLY FATAL DOSE OF OXYCODONE.
Full prescribing information for OxyContin is available at
http://www.purduepharma.com/PRESSROOM/PI/OXYCONTIN_PI.PDF.
Purdue Pharma L.P.
CONTACT: Tim Bannon, +1-203-588-8450, for Purdue Pharma L.P.
Web site: http://www.purduepharma.com/
