A US District judge on Friday accepted a guilty plea and settlement from Purdue Pharma and three of its exectives over the marketing of its painkiller OxyContin (extended-release oxycodone), and issued a $634.5 million fine. This represents approximately 90% of the profits on sales of O
xyContin during the period in which the offense took place, papers from the District Court for Western Virginia said.
The company and three current and former senior executives – president Michael Friedman, chief legal officer Howard Udell and former head of R&D Paul Goldenheim – pleaded g
uilty in May to charges that the firm deliberately misled the US public about the risk of addiction associated with its painkiller OxyContin.
The plea ended what was a four-year investigation by the US Attorney’s Office. Under the terms of the settlement, Purdue will now agree to pay $470 mi
llion to government agencies and $130 million to resolve private civil lawsuits related to the painkiller. In addition, Friedman and Udell will pay fines totalling $19 million and $8 million, respectively, while Goldenheim is being hit with a $7.5 million penalty. All are now convicted criminals an
d each has been asked to undertake 400 hours of community service and placed on three years’ probation; they will also be subject to court supervision. Furthermore, Purdue itself is convicted of a felony and will now have to endure an extensive corporate integrity agreement to ensure it is compliant with all US federal laws.
