DRUG CO., FLA. MAKE PACT TO THWART OXYCONTIN ABUSE

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Florida's top consumer watchdog on Friday
announced an unusual agreement with Purdue Pharma LP aimed at preventing
abuse of the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

The pact--the first of its kind in the nation--ends an investigation
launched by the Florida Attorney General's Office in 2001 into Purdue
Pharma's marketing of the oft-abused narcotic. No charges were ever filed as
a result of the probe, a state spokeswoman said.

Under the agreement, Purdue Pharma will provide up to $2 million in funding
to the state for development of a software program capable of tracking a
patient's prescribing history in real time. The program would be designed to
monitor prescriptions for all controlled substances. Florida's state
legislature must authorize the system's implementation.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based drugmaker also agreed to provide $150,000
for a series of programs around the state to help train Florida law
enforcement officials on prescription drug abuse and diversion.

Attorney General Bob Butterworth said the agreement represents a novel
partnership among members of the medical community, state law enforcement
and the pharmaceutical company. "It was not lawyer-driven," he told
reporters attending a Friday afternoon briefing in Fort Lauderdale.

"We've not been compelled to do this," added Howard Udell, Purdue Pharma's
executive vice president and general counsel. "We're doing this because we
care about our patients," he said. "The abuse of that drug is hurting
patients, and doctors are afraid to prescribe it because they're afraid
they'll be scammed."

Udell noted that states have been hampered in their efforts to rid the
streets of illegal drug traffic "simply because they don't have the money"
to develop and implement sophisticated computed technology. Florida has
agreed to make the system it develops available, at no cost, to any other
state that requests it.

"The state of Florida will be first, the state of Florida will be the
leader, but it will be available to all states," he said.

Purdue Pharma has been the target of more than a dozen lawsuits charging
that it failed to adequately warn consumers about OxyContin's potential for
abuse or take other action to prevent its illegal use. The company has
maintained its innocence and remains resolved to defend against the charges.

"Over-prescribing and also under-prescribing has been a major problem in
Florida," said Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah, chairman of the Florida Board of
Medicine. Giving doctors access to a real-time software program will allow
them to check whether a patient has had another prescription for OxyContin,
even if the prescription was written by another doctor just "moments
before," he said. It's the "best way we can avoid over-prescribing and also
under-prescribing."

Broward County (Florida) Sheriff Ken Jenne added that Purdue Pharma's
investment in the state would help doctors identify abusers and help law
enforcement officials fight illegal street sales of prescription narcotics.
"What Purdue Pharma is going to do for us is to give us the training to
enforce the law," he said.