PAINKILLER PROMPTS MULITBILLION-DOLLAR SUIT

JONESVILLE, Va. -- A multi-billion-dollar lawsuit has been filed
against the makers of the painkiller OxyContin and two doctors,
claiming they failed to warn patients that the drug was dangerously
addictive.

The drug, intended for use by terminal cancer patients and chronic
pain sufferers, has been linked to at least 120 overdose deaths nationwide.

The suit was filed Friday in Lee County Circuit Court by seven people
who are former addicts or relatives of addicts. The suit, which seeks
class-action status for other victims, alleges the drug's makers
aggressively marketed the painkiller while downplaying its risks.

Named as defendants are Purdue Frederick Co., Purdue Pharma L.P. and
Purdue Pharma Inc., all based in Stamford, Conn., and Abbott
Laboratories Inc. and Abbott Laboratories, both based in Chicago.

On Monday, West Virginia also sued the makers of OxyContin, claiming
they tried to get doctors to overprescribe the drug while failing to
warn of its potential for abuse.

Also named in the suit are two doctors, Richard Norton and Shireen
Brohi. Norton is a former emergency room doctor now serving a federal
prison sentence in South Carolina for embezzling from a hospital.

"I do not prescribe the drug and I have no comment," Brohi said
Saturday. She then said she has prescribed the drug once in the last
six to eight months.

The plaintiffs are seeking more than $5.2 billion in compensatory
damages from Purdue. They also want the pharmaceutical giant to set up
rehabilitation facilities in the region and provide ongoing medical
monitoring for patients using the drug.

If taken properly, Oxycontin's active ingredient is released slowly
into the body. But abusers circumvent the time-release by crushing the
pills and inhaling or injecting the powder to get the same kind of
euphoric high that heroin brings.