Opioid-sales secrets to be unsealed after USA TODAY NETWORK, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government court battle

Jamie Satterfield | Knoxville

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The manufacturer of one of the deadliest opioids on the market has dropped its effort to cloak in secrecy what Tennessee’s attorney general says is proof the firm lied about the addictive properties of the drug and actively marketed it to addicts.

Purdue Pharma had wanted to keep from the public the lion’s share of information contained in a 272-page lawsuit Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III filed earlier this year against the maker of Oxycontin, the most potent and widely abused opioid on the market.

Drug maker blinks on eve of fight

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and the News Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, fought the move via attorney Richard Hollow, and Slatery’s office filed a motion in support of the two organizations’ bid to unseal the entirety of the lawsuit, which was filed in Knox County Circuit Court.

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“The state’s complaint contains specific examples of defendant’s unlawful conduct, its scale and impact on the state, the company’s knowledge of activities and financial gain,” Slatery’s filing stated. “It is difficult to imagine litigation that is of more public concern.”

A hearing had been set before Circuit Court Judge Kristi Davis on Friday. But Purdue backed down earlier this week, filing formal notice the drug maker would no longer seek to keep the lawsuit’s contents under seal.

Jack McElroy, executive editor of the News Sentinel, said he was glad the effort led Purdue to reverse course.

“Given the magnitude of the opioid epidemic and its devastating effect on Tennessee families and communities, it’s hard to imagine an issue in which the public has a greater need - and right - to examine the causes,” McElroy said. “This conclusion will allow all of us to gain a better understanding of the roots of this crisis.”

Deborah Fisher, executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, echoed that sentiment.

“A business should not be able to use ‘trade secrets’ as a way to hide how they broke the law,” she said. “I’m glad Purdue dropped its effort at this initial stage, but it’s not over yet and we will continue to watch this trial going forward for any other efforts by the company to hide from the public what happened.”

Slatery’s office issued a statement Thursday praising Purdue’s decision.

“We believe the public has a right to know,” the statement read.

More: Coverage of the Purdue Pharma case

Lawsuits mounting

Tennessee was one of six states that sued Purdue Pharma in May for its alleged role in creating and perpetuating the opioid crisis that is continuing to claim lives. Purdue is owned by the Sackler family, whose Forbes-rating fortune came almost entirely from the firm’s pushing of Oxycontin, an opiate, as a miracle painkiller safe for patients.

Purdue’s sales shot up by $35 billion after it introduced Oxycontin onto the market in 1995. The firm now earns $3 billion annually in drug sales.

States, local governments, hospitals and even prosecutors – including several in East Tennessee - across the country are now suing Big Pharma, including Purdue, alleging the opioid makers hid the addictive properties of the drug from doctors and patients, pushed doctors to over-prescribe it, offered “savings” cards for addicts, many of whom were paying for prescriptions with cash, pushing doctors already accused of doling out opioids to prescribe more and more potent versions of the drug, ignoring obvious signs of over-prescribing and using the wealth the opioid market generated to line the pockets of politicians, including members of Congress, to stave off greater regulations.

More: Big Pharma's Oxycontin maker fights for secrecy in Tennessee Attorney General's lawsuit

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More: East TN prosecutors slap Big Pharma with 2nd lawsuit over opioid epidemic

Those lawsuits relied heavily upon media reports. Slatery’s office, though a latercomer to the legal fight against Big Pharma, had something many of those other government leaders attempting to sue drug makers did not – evidence gleaned from Purdue itself.

AG: Purdue violated deal terms

The state in 2007 had reached a settlement agreement with Purdue, and, as part of that agreement, the drug maker was required to turn over to the state records including “call notes” from Purdue’s marketing representatives’ overtures to prescribers and information on its “savings cards.”

Purdue did, but Slatery’s office has alleged in court filings the drug maker did nothing to honor that settlement – which required Purdue to stop falsely marketing its drugs and institute measures to prevent over-prescribing and abuses – and the epidemic grew worse.

“The state alleges the defendant failed to comply with the 2007 consent judgment … that required it to take appropriate steps including the cessation of promotion to prescribers whose practices showed red flags for abuse or diversion,” Slatery argued in a motion.

Much of the information turned over to the state as part of that 2007 settlement was included in the lawsuit filed in May, and Purdue’s attorneys accused Slatery of subterfuge – promising to keep the information secret but then using it against the firm and revealing it publicly via the new litigation.

They wanted Davis to seal entire sections of the lawsuit, arguing it contained “trade secrets” and other “proprietary” information its competitors could steal.

USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee obtained a copy of the state’s lawsuit on Thursday and will be reporting on its contents in the coming days.