Unredacted Mass. Lawsuit: Purdue Planned to Branch Out Into Addiction Treatment

 Newly unredacted portions of Massachusetts’ lawsuit against Purdue Pharma reveal details of the aggressive sales tactics the lawsuit claims the Oxycontin manufacturer used to increase sales of its opioid products.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sided with Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, ruling the full complaint must be released on Jan. 31. The unredacted version contains numerous previously unrevealed allegations of misconduct against the drugmaker.

For example, according to the full complaint, email correspondence reveals that the company’s Board of Directors, including members of the Sackler family, asked staff to determine whether giving doctors free samples of opioids would increase sales of Purdue’s then-new opioid product Butrans (buprenorphine). The board specifically ordered forecasts focused on higher dosages and pressed sales staff to specifically pressure doctors it identified as key opinion leaders to use their influence and reputations to increase prescribing.