Purdue Pharma

(Newser) - In a big victory for campaigners against prescription drug abuse—as well as for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma—the FDA has blocked generic drugmakers from making their own versions of the powerful painkiller. The ruling came on the day that Purdue's patent on the old, crushable, and widely abused...

(Newser) - The company that makes OxyContin pleaded guilty today to misleading the public about the effects of the potent painkiller. Purdue Pharma and three executives will pay $634.5 million in civil and criminal fines. Federal prosecutors accused the firm of "misbranding" the drug, marketing it as a less addictive...