SENATE EXAMINES OXYCONTIN MARKETING

WASHINGTON - A Senate committee considered on Tuesday whether more controls
are needed on the painkiller OxyContin - now a popular illicit drug because
of its heroin-like highs.

"We must find ways to address the abuse of OxyContin while preserving
access for those who need it," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

In December, Drug Enforcement Administrator Asa Hutchinson said aggressive
marketing by pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma L.P. has made OxyContin
more available. The number of prescriptions for the drug has grown steadily
and reached 5.8 million last year.

The Food and Drug Administration, however, has not seen any violations in
Purdue Pharma's marketing practices, FDA's Dr. John Jenkins said Tuesday.
He told lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee that the company has made efforts to improve labeling and
emphasize the correct way to use the drug.

Paul Goldenheim, a Purdue Pharma vice president, told lawmakers that
"blaming the drug abuse problem on aggressive marketing is unjustified."

Goldenheim said the drug is not promoted to consumers and the few
advertisements for it appear in health journals. He said the company has
never given samples to patients or physicians.

But Dr. Art Van Zee, a Lee County, Va. internist, blames the company's
marketing for the OxyContin abuse that has wrecked his small Appalachian
town. He and others from Lee County want the drug recalled until it can be
made less likely to be abused.

"It is hard to find a family in Lee County that has not been touched
directly or indirectly by this problem," Zee said. He said the company has
sponsored seminars and lobbied physicians heavily to encourage the drug's use.

OxyContin is a slow-release narcotic painkiller. It is widely prescribed
for victims of moderate to severe chronic pain resulting from such problems
as arthritis, back trouble and cancer.

One pill is designed to last 12 hours, but those who abuse OxyContin
usually crush the medicine and then snort or inject it.

Dr. Richard Payne, president-elect of the American Pain Society, urged
lawmakers for "balance" in offering solutions. He said there are millions
of Americans with chronic pain who depend on the medication.