There is a reminder from the US today of the dangers of a predominantly commercial health service. For nearly thirty years, a once-respected pharmaceutical company, Purdue, made profits in the same way as Insys - commented on here last month - by pushing an addictive drug by criminal as well as legal means. Indeed, Insys may only have been following where Purdue led with its OxyContin. The US Department of Justice has closed a case against Purdue, extracting fines from the company and from those members of the Sackler family who control it. (The English descendants have dissociated themselves from the business.) However, the company is practically bankrupt so there will be hardly any compensation for the victims of the opioid scandal. The owners are barely touched.
This imperfect outcome may well have been aided by pressure from people close to president Trump, who wanted to see at least one of his manifesto promises fulfilled before general election date.
No comments:
Post a Comment