Marketing and the Opioid Crisis in America

By Nancy K. Sayre

The U.S. is facing a horrible opioid epidemic where thousands of individuals die every day from overdosages. OxyContin, a powerful opioid painkilling drug, entered the market in 1996 and has since accounted for billions of dollars in sales by the manufacturer, Purdue Pharma (Van Zee, 2009). The drug was originally marketed as less addictive, less subject to abuse, and less likely to cause withdrawal than other pain killers. By 2004, OxyContin had become the leading drug of abuse in the U.S. Critics claim the pharmaceutical company misrepresented the risks and benefits of OxyContin. According to medical studies, OxyContin offered no advantages over appropriate doses of other conventional drugs other than a reduction in the frequency of dosing (Van Zee, 2009).

Purdue Pharma created an elaborate marketing campaign, costing millions, to sell OxyContin. Pain management conferences were held with thousands of clinicians participating across the U.S. A sophisticated marketing database was used to examine and influence physician prescribing patterns. Sales representatives were provided lucrative bonuses, and a newly hired and larger number of sales reps offered patient starter coupons. Branded promotional items were widely distributed such as hats, toys, and CDs. A common theme in the marketing campaigns was to minimize the risk of addiction to OxyContin. However, studies have shown that prescription drug abuse from opioids in patients with chronic pain is a serious risk (Van Zee,2009). The marketing campaigns and commercial success helped OxyContin raise to blockbuster drug status. Despite company executives being fined and facing criminal charges, the massive sales of OxyContin have been stained by increasing rates of abuse, addiction, and overdose deaths nationwide.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs and is responsible for ensuring that it is truthful, balanced, and accurately communicated. Although promotional materials are to be submitted for review, often this does not happen prior to their use, in part due to the limited FDA staffing. The FDA determined that 15,000 copies of an OxyContin video that made unsubstantiated claims were distributed to physicians (Van Zee, 2009).

Hundreds of individuals have protested outside the Purdue Pharma corporate headquarters in Connecticut blaming the deaths of their relatives on addiction to OxyContin (Schott, 2018). Also, a group of citizens who have been personally impacted by the opioid epidemic have been launching protests at charitable organizations where the founders of the drug company have donated thousands or millions of dollars for artwork. At one art gallery, protesters scattered pill bottles, staged a "die in" and unfurled banners (Moynihan, 2018)

After reading the scenario, research the opioid crisis in order to answer the following questions. Submit your assignment in a MS-Word document here.

• What should the role of the physician, consumer, and advertiser be with respect to the opioid epidemic?
• Were ethical standards of the P, promotion in marketing, violated by this drugmaker?
• Has pharmaceutical advertising gone too far? Why or why not?
• What do you think about the response of the activists? Did they have other options to pronounce their dismay?
• Will consumer activism influence pharmaceutical marketing? How or how not?