PURDUE ASKED TO STEP UP OXYCONTIN EFFORTS

STAMFORD - Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal yesterday
called on Purdue Pharma to take dramatic and unprecedented steps to
help control illegal use of its pain drug OxyContin.

Blumenthal called on the Stamford-based company to take several
measures, including setting up treatment programs where OxyContin
abuse is most prevalent, distributing the drug through a limited
number of physicians and pharmacies, and training doctors who
prescribe the drug.

"While Purdue Pharma seems sincere in seeking to address the problems,
no comprehensive effective solutions have been offered," Blumenthal
said. "Very bluntly, initiatives must move beyond cosmetic and
symbolic steps to deal directly with alarming and growing diversion,
abuse, fraud, robbery and other lawbreaking."

A Purdue spokesman read a statement issued by the company yesterday in
which officials said they planned to meet with Blumenthal next week.

"He knows that Purdue Pharma is making substantive efforts to address
the problem of prescription drug abuse and to ensure that patients
continue to have access to the best pain medications available,"
Purdue Pharma said. "We are concerned that the harsh tone of his
letter will cause alarm among pain patients in Connecticut whose
medical care would be compromised by some of the restrictive proposals
he suggests."

OxyContin is a time-release narcotic that is prescribed for victims of
moderate to severe chronic pain from ailments such as arthritis, back
trouble and cancer. When crushed and ingested, however, it gives a
heroin-like high and can be addictive.

The drug has been blamed in as many as 120 deaths nationwide, a number
Purdue says has been exaggerated in the media.

The company faces more than a dozen lawsuits from patients who say
they have become addicted to the drug or those who blame the company
for the rash of illegal OxyContin use.

Blumenthal, a Greenwich Democrat, said the letter was aimed at raising
awareness of the issue and to trigger Purdue to take what he called
"common-sense measures" to combat OxyContin abuse.

"There's no hidden agenda here," he said yesterday. "We have
authorities in some areas to take actions. . . . My hope is that
Purdue Pharma recognizes its moral and legal responsibilities here.
The purpose of this letter is not to threaten or retaliate. It's to
urge positive and constructive action."

Among the actions Blumenthal asked Purdue to take:

=95 Devote funds to treatment and rehabilitation programs, citing what
he called the company's "responsibility, legal and moral, to
individuals who are addicted, whether they acquired the drug
legitimately or illicitly;"

=95 Distribute the drug through select pharmacies and those physicians
with extensive pain management experience;

=95 Create a physician certification program, in which doctors must be
trained in the proper use of OxyContin and educated about its dangers
and benefits;

=95 Adopt a pain management plan in which OxyContin is the last resort
for chronic pain.

Purdue has rejected the "central pharmacy" plan, recommended
previously by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. Company officials
said such a system would make it harder for those who have a
legitimate need of the drug to obtain it.