As negative press continued to build for Purdue Pharma and the opioid crisis grew, their U.S. market shares began to shrink. Prescriptions for OxyContin fell more than 40% since 2010, equating to billions in lost revenue.
The company’s owners, the Sackler Family, started pursuing a new strategy; go global through their international company Mundipharma, and put the pain killer that set off the US opioid crisis into medicine cabinets around the world.
On May 22 of this year, Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Congressman Hal Rodgers released a report titled, Corrupting Influence – Purdue and the World Health Organization. This report exposed the dangerous opioid manufacturer’s influence on the WHO, and the potential jeopardy they present to foreign nations and developing countries.
Today, we’re joined by Guardian reporter and bestselling author of American Overdose, Chris McGreal, and Daily Caller Journalist, Evie Fordham. Together we discuss this report, its impact on the World Health Organization, and Purdue Pharma’s strategy to replicate their marketing practices from the U.S. in international markets at the expense of making the opioid crisis a global epidemic.
We’ll frame today’s episode by revisiting an interview from 2 years ago with LA Times Journalist, Harriett Ryan on an article she wrote titled “OxyContin goes global – We’re only just getting started”.
Join us on today’s podcast for an in-depth look at Purdue Pharma’s influence over the WHO and its attempts to spread OxyContin worldwide.
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