AG pushes for improved OxyContin formula Abusers often crush the drug for a potent high. A proposed change would prevent that.
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER
Wed, May. 12, 2004
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PLAINS TWP. - The drug company that makes the pain killer OxyContin is developing a formula that would negate the high it gives abusers of the medication, but development hasn't come fast enough for PA State Attorney General Jerry Pappert. Pappert on Tuesday criticized Purdue Pharma of Connecticut, questioning why the company has not lived up to a commitment it made three years ago to have the new formula ready by 2004.

Pappert's criticism came during a press conference at the attorney general's local office. He announced new efforts to combat increasing abuse of prescription drugs.

James Heins, a spokesman for Purdue, said the company was prepared to present a new formula to the Food and Drug Administration in 2002, but held off after studies showed it reduced the effectiveness of the medication for legitimate users.

OxyContin provides relief through a time-release formula that gives just enough medication to ease pain. But abusers have found if the drug is crushed, it provides the full effect immediately, causing a euphoric high, Pappert said.

Pappert said that in 2001 Purdue said it could add a "blocking agent" to the medication that would negate its effect if it were crushed, but not interfere if taken as prescribed.

"It's three years later and where are we in the process?" Pappert asked. "If there is a viable way to reformulate the product to prevent people from overdosing, when are we going to see it?"

In 2002, an estimated 14.6 million people used prescription drugs non-medically, up for 3.8 million in 2000, Pappert said. The Luzerne County coroner reported prescription drugs were a contributing factor in 38 overdose deaths in 2003, and 49 deaths in 2002.

Pappert's plan calls for increased penalties for people who forge prescriptions for narcotics and for doctors and pharmacists who illegally sell the drugs. He also has hired eight additional drug agents to investigate prescription drug cases.

Much of the press conference focused on the proposed reformulation on OxyContin, one the most abused prescription drugs.

Pappert questioned if Purdue was stalling development to coincide with the expiration of the drug's patent in 2013. The new formula would qualify for its own patent then, he said.

But Heins said a New York judge has already ruled Purdue's patent on OxyContin is unenforceable. That has opened the door for generic versions of the drug, which are expected to be on the market soon.

"Frankly, it would be in our interest to have the (reformulated) medication sooner than later," he said.

Heins said he could not say when the new formula might be developed, but he expects it will be long before 2013.

"It's our number one research priority. We've invested hundreds of millions of dollars into it, but drug development is a very complex and variable process."

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It should be noted that PA State Attorney General Jerry Pappert is up for re-election this November. He only took the oath of office as Pennsylvania Attorney General on February 2, 2004. Pappert had been Acting Attorney General since December 15, 2003, when Attorney General Mike Fisher was sworn-in as a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Pappert replaced him.

This might explain Pappert's stepped-up "anti-drug" crusade activity prior to November's election.

JB