Unsealed Documents Show How Purdue Pharma Created a “Pain Movement”
Drew Angerer/Getty For years, Purdue Pharma has maintained that it can’t be blamed for the overdose crisis that unfolded after its introduction of OxyContin—but a trove of new evidence suggests that the company was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the opioid epidemic. As early as 2000, Purdue collaborated with pain patient advocacy groups and…
Johnson and Johnson Was Just Found Liable for Fueling the Opioid Epidemic In a Historic Trial
Moussa81/Getty In a landmark verdict, an Oklahoma judge ruled Monday that Johnson and Johnson is responsible for fueling the state’s opioid epidemic. The case, the first of its kind to go to trial, is being closely watched to see if a court is prepared to hold a pharmaceutical company responsible for the devastating consequences of…
Inside Johnson and Johnson’s Quiet Domination of the Opioid Market
Mother Jones illustration; Getty Johnson and Johnson, the company best known for its baby powder and soap, quietly dominated the opioid market for years, growing poppies in Tasmania and selling narcotics to leading drug companies, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. “It was influences from companies like Johnson and Johnson that infiltrated and spread like a…
Purdue Pharma Just Settled a Major Lawsuit in Oklahoma for $270 Million
Toby Talbot/A Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, will pay $270 million to settle a case brought by the Oklahoma Attorney General for helping to lay the groundwork of America’s opioid epidemic. The settlement, announced Tuesday, comes two months before the scheduled start of a televised…
“Mom, When They Look at Me, They See Dollar Signs”
Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Becki Sarnicky, who lost her son Nick, at her home in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in January Bryan Anselm/Redux for Mother JonesThe offer was too good to resist: Go to rehab for a week, get $1,000 in cash. It was early 2017, and Brianne, a 20-year-old…
A Damning New Report Says McKinsey Allegedly Helped Purdue Sell Even More Opioids
Toby Talbot/AP Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. For years, McKinsey & Company allegedly consulted for Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid OxyContin, on how to boost painkiller sales and counter bad PR—namely, “the emotional messages from mothers with teenagers that overdosed.” The relationship was revealed in a new explosive article by ProPublica’s David Armstrong based on Massachusetts’…