Purdue Pharma confirms DOJ probe

U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly in early October 2015, during a press conference in New Haven, Conn. With Daly set to step down Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, Stamford, Conn.-based Purdue Pharma confirmed to Bloomberg Daly’s office has been conducting an investigation of its OxyContin opioid drug. less U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly in early October 2015, during a press conference in New Haven, Conn. With Daly set to step down Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, Stamford, Conn.-based Purdue Pharma confirmed to Bloomberg ... more Photo: (Arnold Gold-New Haven Register) Photo: (Arnold Gold-New Haven Register) Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Purdue Pharma confirms DOJ probe 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — Purdue Pharma, maker of the top-selling OxyContin, confirmed Thursday it is under investigation by federal prosecutors in Connecticut.

Stamford-based Purdue told Hearst Connecticut Media it is cooperating with the investigation, but it did not give details on the inquiry. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly, who is in her final days in office this week, declined to comment on the inquiry.

“Purdue is committed to being part of the solution to our nation’s opioid crisis and has been cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s investigation,” Purdue said in the statement. “We will continue to do so until this matter is resolved.”

President Donald Trump declared on Thursday a public health emergency with respect to opioids that will increase federal funding to combat abuse, calling it a “horrible plague” on the country.

States and municipalities nationally have sued Purdue Pharma in hopes of holding the company accountable for the opioid epidemic. In an August lawsuit filed in New Hampshire state court, the state’s attorney general claimed Purdue Pharma worked with medical trade groups to create treatment guidelines that “overstated the benefits and understated the risks of opioids”; and that the company failed to report suspicious prescription practices on the part of physicians that helped funnel drugs for illicit use by addicts.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen stated last month that his office has joined a multistate investigation of opioid makers, without singling out Purdue Pharma by name.

In 2007, Purdue Pharma and three executives paid a combined $635 million to settle an investigation into its marketing of OxyContin over more than a decade. The company has continued to draw litigation since, with more than 35 federal lawsuits filed in October alone, on claims covering everything from personal injury to patent infringement.

Purdue Pharma is controlled today by Richard Sackler and the family of his father Raymond Sackler, whom Forbes added in 2015 to its annual list of the richest Americans, ranked 16th that year with the family having an estimated wealth of at least $14 billion. Raymond Sackler died July 17, 2017, at the age of 97.

Under Dr. Craig Landau, appointed CEO in July, and his predecessor, Mark Timney, Purdue Pharma has been attempting to expand its portfolio of medications beyond OxyContin, both through internal development as well as acquisitions and partnerships with other companies.

A veteran of the U.S. Army who completed a Yale University residency in anesthesiology, Landau joined Purdue Pharma in 1999, winning promotions to chief medical officer and head of research and development, and leading the company’s efforts to produce tamper-resistant formulations of OxyContin as a way to prevent abuse of the drug.

Last month, Landau was at the White House along with other pharmaceutical company executives to meet with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is leading a presidential commission established last March on combatting opioid abuse, having signaled in a draft interim report elements of its final plan expected next week.

Paul Schott contributed reporting to this article.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman