OXYCONTIN GARNERS ATTENTION IN CONN.

Discussion about the potential perils of OxyContin has reached law
enforcement circles in Connecticut, home of the company that manufactures
the prescription painkiller.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal met this week with officials
from Purdue Pharma L.P. to discuss his concerns about the drug, which has
been linked to more than 30 fatal overdoses and skyrocketing crime rates in
far Southwest Virginia.

Although misuse of the drug is not a major problem in Connecticut,
Blumenthal said he is aware of the situation in Virginia and other parts of
the country.

Blumenthal stressed that there is no indication of liability or potential
illegal activity by Purdue Pharma, which is headquartered in Stamford, Conn.
"The company is certainly indicating a high level of cooperation," he said
in an interview Wednesday.

A meeting Monday between Blumenthal and company representatives was similar
to one held in Richmond earlier this month at the urging of Attorney General
(http://www.oag.state.va.us/Mark Earley.

Both meetings addressed ways to curb OxyContin abuse. Addicts grind the
tablets into a powder that is snorted or injected, creating a high similar
to heroin's and a crime wave likened to crack cocaine's toll on inner-city
neighborhoods.

Some doctors have questioned the way Purdue Pharma markets the drug,
suggesting the company is overselling a potent painkiller that should be
reserved for terminal cancer patients and those in serious pain.

"Obviously, the drug itself is highly promoted and also highly addictive,"
Blumenthal said. "The legitimate question is whether the marketing and
prescription has increased demand in a way that also may lead to more
widespread abuse."

Purdue Pharma's director of public relations said the company does not
advertise directly to consumers, and is responsible in the way it markets
OxyContin to physicians.

"I can assure you that we use extreme care," Robin Hogen said.

Hogen said it was Purdue Pharma that first contacted Blumenthal and
suggested a meeting, anticipating that he would hear about reports of
OxyContin misuse from some of his colleagues this week at a national
conference of attorneys general.

"The attorney general told us and we were pleased to learn that this is not
really on his screen in Connecticut," Hogen said. Blumenthal agreed that
while there is no sign of widespread abuse of the drug in his state, his
office is conducting an investigation of Medicaid fraud involving OxyContin.

In other recent developments involving OxyContin:

Last week, more than 700 people attended a town meeting in Lee County held
to discuss a so-called OxyContin epidemic that the sheriff says is
responsible for up to 70 percent of the county's crime.

Hundreds of citizens signed petitions that call for the recall of OxyContin,
which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1996.

Many people who take the drug under doctor's orders say they are fearful
that reports of abuse might lead to increased regulation of the drug, if not
an outright recall.

"Any effort to restrict OxyContin tablets would be a disservice to thousands
of patients in Virginia who rely on this medication to control their pain
and regain function in their daily lives," the company said in a news
release last week.

U.S. Attorney Bob Crouch said about 80 law enforcement representatives from
across Southwest Virginia attended a meeting Monday in Abingdon to continue
charting a plan of action. One idea that came out of the meeting was the
creation of a statewide computer system that could track prescriptions
statewide.

In Whitesburg, Ky., police said fake OxyContin prescriptions believed to
have been made on a home computer have been filled at pharmacies in eastern
Kentucky and Southwest Virginia.