Evidence of meeting #14 for Health in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was patients.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ben Lobb
Thank you.
I'll just pass along from your initial comments that we'll certainly welcome Mr. Glavine's comments. We'll make sure the analyst takes his comments and his suggestion for the report.
9:50 a.m.
NDP
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
On a point of order, Mr. Chair, I'm wondering if we could get an explanation as to why the minister from Nova Scotia was not on the list, and why we ended up with a new witness, Dr. Landau, whom we've already heard. What happened?
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ben Lobb
It's not a point of order, but we can discuss that in camera after the meeting. We have our time here now, and I'm happy to discuss that with you later if you'd like. It's up to you.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ben Lobb
No, I can tell you right now if you want.
Mr. Glavine is an elected official. He was put into the position in October. He was put forward as a witness by someone on this committee. That in itself is not a problem. The reality of the situation is that it was probably more appropriate for a deputy minister or a subject matter expert inside the ministry to present. That's why I say we'll welcome his proposal, his submission, at that time. That's the chair's prerogative. Right or wrong, that's the prerogative I took, and that's the explanation.
9:55 a.m.
NDP
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
How did Dr. Landau get on the list? He wasn't on the list yesterday, nor in the notes we got, so we had no background.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ben Lobb
That's a good question too. Again, some of these things happen on the fly. They were on the list. They were there; they were supposed to be in on Tuesday but couldn't make it. They were able to make it on Thursday. That's the long and the short of that one.
February 13th, 2014 / 9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
Thank you, Chair.
My question's for Dr. Landau.
Dr. Landau, in the late 1880s Bayer in Germany created a synthetic opioid that made people feel heroic. They marketed that drug to treat pain, and for those who were addicted to morphine or the liquid version, which is laudanum. They did it by telling doctors with no clear evidence that it was safer than other such drugs because it wasn't addictive.
That drug was heroin, one of the most addictive drugs in the world, which has caused immeasurable misery to addicts ever since. It has ruined tens of thousands of lives, caused thousands of deaths, and cost hundreds of millions to health care plans worldwide.
Flash forward to the late 1990s. Your company, Purdue Pharma, did the exact same thing with oxycodone/OxyContin, sending out an army of detail reps to persuade thousands of doctors with no clear evidence that it was safer than heroin or morphine, and it wasn't really addictive. Now you're here today doing the same thing for OxyNEO.
Your company financed and co-opted a professor at one of the finest medical schools in Canada for a compulsory week-long curriculum on how to treat pain. You provided him with false information for those lectures in the form of free textbooks paid by Purdue Pharma that indicated that oxycodone and OxyContin were not addictive in the absence of clear evidence. You provided free copies for his captive audience of medical students.
The text amended a WHO document, World Health Organization, that did not mention oxycodone, to add oxycodone and indicate that oxycodone was a weak opioid similar to codeine and tramadol—when the truth is that oxycodone is at least 1.5 times stronger than morphine—thus making oxycodone appear safer than it was.
You arranged for the CMAJ to print a review of a clinical trial that said there is now evidence opioids relieve chronic, neuropathic, and nociceptive pain.” Instead you added in three words “strong and consistent” evidence opioids relieve chronic, neuropathic, and nociceptive pain, thus grossly exaggerating the efficacy of oxycodone. All this to persuade a new generation of doctors that oxycodone is more effective and less powerful, and therefore safer for patients, and less likely to cause addiction.
Oxycodone/OxyContin is now well known as the most addictive drug in the world, which has created thousands of addicts whose lives have been disrupted or ruined, many of whom have turned to crime to pay for their oxycodone/OxyContin habit in some cases becoming addicts for life, hundreds of others turning to crime to pay for their Oxy, and in many others dying from overdose.
In May 2007 your company in the U.S. paid $634.5 million to the U.S. government in fines for illegally marketing oxycodone/OxyContin.
I'd like to ask you what are the total worldwide sales for these two drugs since you started selling them just in billions of dollars.
9:55 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Purdue Pharma Canada
Thank you for the question. I don't know, unfortunately.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
It's billions of dollars certainly. How many billions? Can you give me a rough....?
9:55 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Purdue Pharma Canada
It's hard to know given that timeframe.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
9:55 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Purdue Pharma Canada
I'm honestly not certain. I don't know. It's in the billions of dollars for sure.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
Thank you.
Dr. Landau, considering Purdue Pharma's aggressive and corrupt marketing practices in Canada, and the severity of the addiction problem it has caused with 500 deaths in Canada as we heard this morning, thousands of lives ruined, and the massive cost to federal and provincial health plans, would Purdue Pharma apologize to Canadians and put $45 million on the table, just like you put $634.5 million on the table in the US, but this time for treatment programs for those who have been addicted to opioids, some of them the first time they took the drug?
I am asking Purdue Pharma to match the $45 million our government put on the table in the recent budget to help relieve some of the misery, and help these people get off your drugs.
9:55 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Purdue Pharma Canada
The question is will we...?
10 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
Would you match the $45 million our government has committed to deal with problems your company created with illegal marketing to help these patients, treat them, and get them off addictive drugs?
10 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Purdue Pharma Canada
Thank you for the question.
I'll take the request back with me. I'm not in a position to say yes or no at this point.
10 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
I have another question. Since there are 200 painkillers on the market including morphine and heroin, which have known safety profiles certainly, why does OxyContin or oxycodone have to even be on the market? With all the misery you have caused, why don't you just take it off the market and have a special access program for those who are addicted to it?
10 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Purdue Pharma Canada
Thank you for the question.
OxyContin, since it was introduced, has brought benefit to tens of millions of patients in North America for sure and beyond.
10 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
There are lots of other painkillers that could have benefited those patients.
