JUDGE IN OXYCONTIN CASE INVITES VICTIMS TO SPEAK

Prosecutors Have Already Said That Identifying Victims Of The
Deceptively Marketed Drug Would Be Difficult

981-3239 Those wishing to speak at the July 20 hearing must notify
the U.S. Attorney's Office in Abingdon by July 18.

Before sentencing three pharmaceutical executives for overpromoting
OxyContin, a federal judge wants to hear from the victims of what
prosecutors are calling one of the greatest prescription drug
failures in U.S. history.

In an order filed Monday, U.S. District Judge James Jones said he
will allow brief statements at a July 20 sentencing hearing from any
of those who consider themselves a victim of Purdue Pharma's crimes.

That could include a grieving parent who lost a child to an overdose,
an addict who emptied his bank account to pay for pills, or an
insurance company that paid millions of dollars a year to cover
OxyContin prescriptions.

Jones -- who has raised questions about a plea agreement that calls
for $634.5 million in fines but no jail time for Purdue's top three
executives -- apparently intends to hear from the witnesses before
deciding whether to accept the agreement.

The fine is one of the largest ever assessed against a pharmaceutical
company. But no one can say just how many people were victimized by a
marketing campaign in which Purdue sales representatives oversold
OxyContin's benefits while downplaying its propensity for abuse and addiction.

The way Purdue sees it, there are no victims -- at least not in the
technical sense.

Although the company admitted to misbranding its top-selling drug, or
having sales representatives make false representations in
promotional pitches to physicians, Purdue never conceded that its
crimes were the direct cause of rampant OxyContin abuse in places
like far Southwest Virginia.

Prosecutors made no such allegations and agreed that it would be
"legally difficult and cumbersome" to identify possible victims in the case.

To avoid such a painstaking process, Jones said in his order that he
would hear from any of those who considered themselves to be a victim
without determining whether they qualify as such under the Crime
Victims Rights Act.

Those wishing to speak at the July 20 hearing must notify the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Abingdon by July 18.

One self-described victim is BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, which
asserted in court papers filed Monday that it is entitled to
repayment by Purdue for the millions it shelled out for OxyContin
prescriptions.

More than $430 million of Purdue's fines will be used to compensate
government health care programs such as Medicaid and the Veterans
Administration. But the plea agreement gives no such relief to
private insurance carriers who paid millions for OxyContin
prescriptions that were written needlessly as a result of Purdue's
"massive fraud on the medical community," attorneys for BlueCross
said in court filings.

BlueCross attorneys did not know of Jones' order allowing victims to
speak at the hearing when they filed their motion, said Mark Fischer,
a Louisville lawyer who represents the company.

But the requests made by the company go beyond what the judge's order allows.

BlueCross is the first private insurance company to enter the proceedings.

Federal authorities in Roanoke and Abingdon began an investigation of
Purdue about five years ago, after OxyContin abuse was blamed for
widespread crime, addiction and death in far Southwest Virginia.

In announcing the plea agreement in May, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee
said Purdue officials knowingly misled doctors about OxyContin's
dangers. "The result of their misrepresentations and crimes sparked
one of our nation's greatest prescription drug failures," Brownlee said.