A new book by Guardian journalist Chris McGreal, 'American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts', offers a detailed retrospective on the US opioid crisis, which has claimed 350,000 American lives over the past two decades. The book focuses on the role of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, accusing them of sparking the deadliest drug crisis in history through their blockbuster prescription opioid OxyContin.
McGreal describes OxyContin as a 'game changer' due to its unprecedented strength and Purdue's aggressive marketing campaign. He details how Purdue secured FDA approval to widen OxyContin's use for chronic pain, a move that opened the door to mass prescribing. The FDA official who oversaw the approval, Curtis Wright, later went to work for Purdue, highlighting what McGreal calls regulatory capture.
Purdue's sales strategy targeted high-prescribing doctors, offering them free samples and paying thousands of healthcare professionals to promote opioids at conferences. The company touted OxyContin as a 'new hope' for millions, but as overdose deaths soared, Purdue blamed the victims. McGreal argues that whistleblowers were ignored by a trio of big pharma, the FDA, and Congress, allowing the crisis to escalate unchecked for another decade.
Dr Jane Ballantyne, a leading US pain specialist, criticises the FDA for prioritising pharmaceutical interests. McGreal notes that drug companies spent $2.5 billion on lobbying and funding members of Congress in the decade to 2016. The Sackler family maintains they are no more culpable than other opioid makers, but McGreal's book challenges institutions, including London galleries and museums, to reconsider accepting Sackler donations.
