Purdue and OxyContin: A timeline
1996: Purdue introduces OxyContin for pain management.
2002: Amid growing reports of addiction and overdose deaths associated with OxyContin, Purdue launches an internal program to identify potential reckless prescribers.
2007: Purdue pays more than $600 million to settle government charges that it trained its sales representatives to mislead physicians about the risks of addiction and overdose from OxyContin.
2010: A tamper-resistant reformulation of OxyContin is released.
2013: A Purdue scientist attends a conference on drug dependency and presents a study of suspected risky prescribers. The study concludes that a small number of physicians may be responsible for a “substantial portion” of painkillers being diverted to the streets.
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