Pubdate: Wed, 15 Jun 2005 Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) Copyright: 2005 Richmond Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.timesdispatch.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/365 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) U.S. INVESTIGATES OXYCONTIN MAKER The U.S. Attorney's Office In Roanoke Is Looking Into Purdue Pharma's Marketing ROANOKE -- Purdue Pharma, maker of the painkiller OxyContin, is the focus of a federal investigation into the marketing of the prescription drug, the company said. "Purdue has total confidence in the honesty and integrity of its officers and directors and is cooperating in that investigation," Purdue Pharma spokesman Tim Bannon told The Roanoke Times. "We are aware of nothing that should reasonably lead to charges as a result of this investigation." Bannon said the company first learned of the investigation in December 2002. The U.S. attorney's office in Roanoke would not comment Monday, citing the office's policy of neither confirming nor denying a continuing investigation. The company's marketing practices have been criticized in the past. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, released a report last year that noted that some company sales representatives received large bonuses for targeting selected doctors. The amount of bonuses the company rewarded to its sales force grew from $1 million in 1996, the year OxyContin hit the market, to $40 million in 2001, according to the report. Purdue Pharma changed part of its policy regarding bonuses four years ago after a meeting with federal authorities in Roanoke, the report stated. Last year, 37 people died from oxycodone overdoses in the western half of Virginia, according to Dr. William Massello, assistant chief medical examiner. OxyContin was initially hailed as a breakthrough in the treatment of severe chronic pain when it was introduced in 1996. The drug, however, has become a problem in recent years after users discovered that crushing the time-release tablets and snorting or injecting the powder yields an immediate, heroin-like high. Purdue Pharma, based in Stamford, Conn., has been named in hundreds of lawsuits for its marketing of OxyContin, but many have been dismissed. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin