OXYCONTIN MOVE RESISTED

Va. Physician Seeks Removal From Market

WASHINGTON - A physician from a small coal mining town in Virginia wants
OxyContin recalled from the market, but he got little support from a panel
of senators examining the controversial drug.

Dr. Art Van Zee of St. Charles lamented the "epidemic of drug abuse and
addiction" involving OxyContin, a powerful painkiller, that has swept rural
Appalachia over the past three years.

He sought tougher regulations for marketing controlled drugs and a recall
of OxyContin by the drug's maker, saying the drug "is unique and its abuse
unprecedented."

Van Zee also contended maker Purdue Pharma's marketing and promotion of
OxyContin "played a major role in this problem."

But several members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee emphasized at a hearing last week the importance of seeking a
balanced response to OxyContin abuse.

"I have yet to be persuaded that the solution is that simple, for removing
OxyContin from the market would deprive many people of access to a drug
that can provide relief from severe pain," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

People in Maine urge a broad approach including public education,
prevention, training for doctors, substance abuse treatment programs and
aid to law enforcement, Collins said.

"We're not going to leap to legislate," said Sen. John W. Warner, a
Virginia Republican who had requested the hearing.

Warner noted that he was the son of a physician and that OxyContin has been
hailed as "a miracle pain reliever" as well as a target for abuse.

And Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., demanded proof of a supposed linkage
between the drug maker's marketing techniques and OxyContin abuse. "Where's
the evidence?" Purdue Pharma's headquarters is located in his state.

One expert who downplayed any singular traits of OxyContin that might be
contributing to abuse was Dr. Richard Payne, president-elect of the
American Pain Society.

He attributed well publicized cases of OxyContin abuse "to the fact that it
is so much more widely prescribed" than other opium derivatives and not to
other characteristics of the drug.

A Purdue Pharma vice president, Dr. Paul D. Goldenheim, testified that
"blaming the drug abuse problem on aggressive marketing is unjustified."

The Senate hearing provided less top-level criticism of Purdue Pharma than
came at a recent hearing in the House.

At that time, Drug Enforcement Administration head Asa Hutchinson partially
blamed "aggressive marketing and promotion" by Purdue Pharma for the
time-released painkiller's "disproportionate abuse."

And Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-Va., pledged to seek a General Accounting Office
investigation of the company's marketing practices.

In contrast, a Food and Drug Administration official declined in responding
to a senator last week to say whether he agreed with Hutchinson.

Van Zee, an internist, is a leader in a Lee County coalition seeking a
recall of OxyContin until it can be reformulated as a drug with less
potential for abuse.