Va. Grand Jury Mulls Criminal Charges Against Purdue Pharma June 29, 2005
News Summary
A federal grand jury in Virginia is considering whether to press criminal charges against executives of Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, for allegedly misrepresenting the drug's potential for addiction, the New York Post reported June 12.The grand jury is reportedly looking at the conduct of four or five top officials of the Stamford, Conn.-based pharmaceutical company, who prosecutors contend were involved in concealing the dangers of OxyContin while aggressively pushing salespeople to market the drug.
Charges could include fraud and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, the latter of which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Experts said this would be the first time that pharmaceutical executives face criminal charges for selling narcotics.
"This company has lied about everything," said attorney Paul Hanly, who represents a former Purdue employee called to appear before the grand jury. "My understanding is that the [grand jury] was convened because of the misrepresentations that Purdue made from the get-go."
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