Was critical information withheld that potentially could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives to addiction and death as billions of dollars were put in the pockets of the perpetrators and their benefactors?
Marianne Skolek Perez, Investigative Reporter
(MYRTLE BEACH) Attached are photos of the front page of The Orlando Sentinel who did an explosive series in October 2003 on Purdue Pharma and their deadly new drug, OxyContin. The series exposed the criminal marketing of OxyContin by Purdue Pharma in a 5 part series. You will not find this series on the Internet. Fortunately I have copies of the newspapers and will protect the name of the journalist who I consider a hero for the investigative work put into the series. The journalist was an award winning writer, who as a result of this series, caused Purdue Pharma to threaten The Orlando Sentinel and the journalist was unceremoniously terminated.
One of the shocking revelations written about the maker of OxyContin was reference to a Marek Zakrzewski, one of Purdue Pharma’s former top researchers who sued the company alleging it had tried to cover up defects in OxyContin that led to addiction and fatal overdoses. Zakrzewski said he was fired a month after he went to the FDA to report his concerns. He had been hired as an assistant director in July 2000 and discovered inconsistencies in OxyContin that caused some tablets to dissolve more quickly than others. This could potentially dissolve more quickly into the human body than expected and cause overdosing and potentially lead to addiction and death. He was told not to share his concerns because Purdue Pharma did not want problems with the FDA. Zakrzewski named (17) Purdue Pharma officials who were told about irregularities including the allegation that some OxyContin were unstable when exposed to humidity or the passage of time. He also referenced inaccurate testing methods and refusal to adhere to FDA specifications.
How many lives could have been saved if Purdue Pharma had been charged under “The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” or RICO based on Zakrzewski’s court documents?
There was a pharmaceutical representative who worked for Purdue Pharma and sued them for giving false information to physicians in order to have OxyContin prescribed to patients. She was fired and filed a whistle blower suit against Purdue Pharma, citing retaliation for raising concerns about OxyContin sales tactics. Purdue Pharma countered that poor performance resulted in the termination The whistle blower lost her case against Purdue Pharma. Where are the files that the pharmaceutical representative had in the arsenal against Purdue Pharma? Handed over to an attorney who was going to look into her lost lawsuit, but instead passed on representing her. That attorney has now filed lawsuits all over the country against Purdue Pharma and has benefited quite nicely from the naive whistle blower relinquishing files.
What took so long for there to be a “feeding frenzy” of lawsuits filed against Purdue Pharma, maker of the annihilating opioid, OxyContin? Most recently the attorney general of Massachusetts filed a creative lawsuit naming the owners of Purdue Pharma, the wealthy philanthropic Sackler family. There was information contained in the lawsuit that begged to be asked. Where did this all come from? Why was the privately held Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family not charged under “The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” or RICO?
A concerning issue in the Massachusetts lawsuit is that the attorney general worked for the law firm Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr who represented Purdue Pharma as a client. The AG’s “significant other” is a partner in this same firm who still represents Purdue Pharma. I wrote about my concerns with the Massachusetts lawsuit and why key players from Purdue Pharma were not named, but Board of Director members of the privately held company without day to day activity of the running of Purdue Pharma were named.
Is the name Curtis Wright, MD mentioned in the lawsuit? He worked for the FDA in the approval phase of OxyContin and shortly after the approval of the opioid, became an employee of Purdue Pharma. Did he violate his FDA employee contract? He sure did, but the FDA claimed they did not know he was working for Purdue Pharma. Here is a link to my article in one of five publications I write for on the Massachusetts attorney general lawsuit: http://salem-news.com/…/aug…/ag-healey-purdue-pharma-msp.php
Now ask yourself why after so much loss of life spanning almost two decades have the assassins of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family been allowed to get away with murder for so long. Think this epidemic was fueled not only by the “assassins”, but also by the FDA, politicians, attorneys, organizations with non-profit status, conflicts of interest and pharma? You would be correct.
Think this total miscarriage of justice couldn’t get any more criminal? Think again — it does become more criminal.
Marianne Skolek Perez
Consultant to attorneys on opioid lawsuits filed throughout the country
Investigative Reporter covering the opioid epidemic writing for
Global News Centre, Salem-News.com, Sons of Liberty Media, The Washington Standard and Freedom Outpost
908-285-1232 - cell
Global News Centre’s Marianne Skolek, is an Investigative Reporter who focuses on the Prescription Opioid/Heroin Epidemic in the U.S. and Canada. In particular, Marianne has covered the criminal marketing of OxyContin going back to 1999 and continuing to the present.
In 2002, Marianne lost her daughter, Jill to prescribed OxyContin which her physician referred to as “mobility in a bottle.” It was, in fact, death in a bottle. After doing extensive research on the maker of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, Marianne began working with the Department of Justice in Virginia in their criminal investigation into Purdue Pharma and in July 2007 was asked by the U.S. Attorney John Brownlee prosecuting the case to testify against the three CEO’s of Purdue Pharma, Michael Friedman, Paul Goldenheim, MD and Howard Udell, Chief Counsel. The CEO’s pleaded guilty to misleading the medical profession about the dangers of OxyContin. Marianne also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007.
In addition, a dangerous and highly addictive opioid named Zohydro has been approved by the FDA against their Advisory Committee’s advice and Marianne continues to alert Attorneys General, Senators and Congressmen as to the FDA’s irresponsibility in the out of control prescription opioid/heroin epidemic killing and addicting in the tens of thousands each year. Zohydro has been referred to as “heroin in a capsule” and its lowest dosage (10mg) contains twice as much hydrocodone as found in a Vicodin pill. The highest single dose of Zohydro contains as much hydrocodone as 5 to 10 tablets of Vicodin or Lortab. Zohydro mixed with alcohol can be fatal and has no abuse deterrent built in which will make it easy to crush and deliver a fatal dose of the opioid.
Currently Marianne has been instrumental in calling for the termination of Margaret Hamburg, MD, Commissioner of the FDA as well as Bob A. Rappaport, MD and Douglas Throckmorton, MD for their lack of commitment to safeguarding the American public against the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic. Marianne’s research, writing and contact with government agencies and attorneys has also exposed the heavily funded pain foundations set up by the pharmaceutical industry and their paid physician spokespersons who convinced the medical boards in 50 states and Canada that dangerous opioids such as OxyContin were less likely to be addictive. These physicians — in particular Scott Fishman, MD, J. David Haddox, DDS, MD, Perry Fine, MD, Lynn R. Webster, MD, Russell Portenoy, MD also downplayed the risks of addictive opioids in books as authors. These books are still available for sale and promoted to the medical profession.
Here are links to Marianne’s involvement in exposing the national conspiracy of the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic, the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry, their pain foundations and paid physician spokespersons.
http://www.salem-news.com/by_author.php?reporter=Marianne%20Skolek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPG1VjD61U&list=UUWoHUEr4ZAbQOfIqtOArjgg&index=6&feature=plcp
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=855537227796352&set=vb.658186307531446&type=2&theater
