Craziest stories from national meetings...or any others

I remember at the Dallas national meeting back in the early 2000's, Chris Sposato (then Florida's Regional Manager) went around the region to ask which person in each district had the physician who had prescribed the highest Oxy dose. If I remember correctly, the "winner" of the region had a doctor who had prescribed 9,600 mg of Oxy q12h.

 

Worst experience in pharma was Purdue, by far. Absolute nightmare voicemail was when Russ Gasdia sent the following out (paraphrased): At least, now, Oxycontin [and the abuse thereof] will be replaced in the headlines.

He was referring to the tragedy of 9/11!!!!

How dare he!!

 

Snowflake

 

If a snowflake were married to a military veteran who risked his life defending our country after 9/11, then that's exactly what I am.

And Rusd Gasdia's quote should be plastered all over the internet with his pic and name.

We'll see how many "snowflakes" there really are out there.

 

The weirdest thing is that they actually flew us out to such beautiful places and stuck us in windowless rooms for 3 days. Or even worse, that i didn't blow off every session

 

Having patients on stage touting the fact they were taking thousands of mg of Oxycontin a day..and still functional.

Each and every one of the patients in the "I've got my life back" video are dead from overdoses, etc. And probably those patients from the national meeting.

So sad they believed Purdue's BS!!

 

This alone should be enough for the Justice Department to squash what ever is left of this company and the owners.

There is a reason this Company was kept private...so know one could look under the hood and expose what was going on.

 

Sell, sell, sell, and don't worry about the patient. Money is everything

 

MC’s costumes were always classic

 

we all believed the company BS. When they hand you a study to sell with and you think it’s a great tool to help you grow the business only to find out all these years later that there really wasn’t much scientific backing for the study at all and Purdue paid the doctor off who did the study. Even the reps who worked there were duped by Purdue. We didn’t really know that the company was buying APS, AAPM and many others in order to get backing for OxyContin

 

Yes, just like the Germans didn't know what the NAZIES were doing...

 

You mean when they bombed Pearl Harbor?

 

Well for all the negative posts and comments my 10yr career with thus company was the opposite. I stand behind the drugs and saw first hand what OxyContin did for friends and co-workers families. They were not abusing or taking insane doses daily. I literally saw them being able to go to work and function and be happy to still work. In fact, they are still taking it to this day. My experience like many others I still keep in touch with are sad to see what happened and how the company ended. I worked with some incredible people and it wasn’t just about the bonus money.

 

I also worked at Purdue in the field. I, too, saw patients it helped. No doubt, there were and are a select few for whom Oxy was a great drug.

However, if you would pull your head out of your ass and consider the fact that you were hoodwinked, you might see the entire reality. Just like anything else in life, you shouldn't base your opinion on a matter as huge as the opioid epidemic (and Purdue's role in it) solely on your own limited experience. Try educating yourself. Try reading a book or two. Try seeing others' points of view.

Most (vast majority) of people who have died from the opioid epidrmic were not bad people. Most (again, vast majority) were productive, upstanding members of society. They were unfortunate enough to be prescribed Oxy by a doctor who was also hoodwinked by Purdue.

I know you, the above poster, can't imagine someone in your fine, upstanding world, becoming addicted to drugs. I'm sure the cast majority of the loved ones of those who died couldn't have imagined it either. UNTIL IT HAPPENED.

Wake up and smell the roses (and the shit that fertilizes them). Noone expects tragedy. It happens. Addiction happens. Cancer happens. Deaths happen.

These things, unfortunately, happen. The truth of the matter is that Purdue "fed the fire" of addiction and made the Sacklers billionaires. And many, many reps very wealthy.

In case you haven't read anything available and are only relying on the ceap that Purdue fed you, here's a few of the facts.
1. Purdue paid off the AAPM and the APS (remember the little green booklet we gave out on every call)? It may have well been entitled, "Purdue's laws on pain management to make the Sacklers rich" guidelines
2. Purdue got off easy in Virginia in 2007, when they paid a tiny percentage of their profits in a fine.

I could go on forever, but it's not my job.

Read something!!

 

Not the op here, but the last post is from a real pompous attitude individual who is narrow minded. I worked at Purdue for 3 yrs and my best friend’s sister died of an overdose of fentanyl—not oxy. However, my dad had cancer and I witnessed first hand how oxy helped him and he wasn’t an addict. I watched my neighbor who suffered from chronic pain from a awful car accident who took hydrocodone for years and switched to oxy and actually not want to kill himself from daily pain. So, do deaths happen and addicts develop-sure. Did some people at Purdue promote off label-sure. It’s like anything else....there’s things that happen which are unethical or wrong at times that I don’t agree with, but to say that the company and all involved agreed with these actions it simply is making an inaccurate statement.

Just like op stated, during my time working with the company, I didn’t witness or experience anything of this nature. My interactions with Russ and Windell any the old Purdue leaders was always good and I loved my team and peers. So, op, I stand with you and the rest of Purdue folks who would agree that our goal was to help the people who truly suffered from pain.

 

Are you referring to the same Russ who sent out an email to every rep in the nation where he said [paraphrased] Thank God Oxycontin will now be taken from the headlines, referring to the fact that the tragedy that occurred on 9/11 in NYC would take Oxycontin out of the front page headlines.

He wanted the lead buried (and obviously, sales to grow exponentially) when he made this statement.

This is a man you like?? Someone who would blantantly disregard the thousands of lives lost on 9/11. Blantantly disregard all the families and friends of those who died? All so Purdue could continue doing business under the radar. Only thought in that man's mind was making $$. No thoughts of others whatsoever.

Sorry if you too got hoodwinked into believing the BS they fed you for so long. I believe uou may have a form.of brainwashing going on.

If anyone from Purdue EVER sold you on the idea they were helping with pain management and caring for patients, then I would say I've got a bridge I want to sell uou.

Do you really think Windell, Russ, Chris Sposato didn't know the facts that are now coming out...Purdue bought AAPM, APS, etc. Too many slimy things to list, but things you were never privy to.

Each and evety one of them at the higher levels knew exactly what was going on, knew the addiction issues, knew the death numbers, knew so much.....and did absolutely nothing to "help the patient in pain". They only wanted to sell more Oxy to line their pockets and the Sacklers pockets with tons of money.

Read a book about the facts. I dare you.

 

This post is so spot on. I, too, believed what Purdue fed us. I believed everyone was like I was, truly trying to help patients in pain.
Then, I considered the idea that I had been brainwashed into believing all of them. I actually read a few books about the facts surrounding Purdue's responsibility in the opioid epidemic. I was outraged to learn Purdue had bought the AAPM. They preached to us for so long that this was a 3rd party, unbiased source. Physicians who were skeptical of what we were saying would listen because this was a very reliable source.
I honestly can't believe just how brainwashed I was at one point. I thought I was smarter than that.

 

Purdue alum here for 15yrs...the real old Purdue legacy folks know we weren’t brainwashed. We know the the pts we helped vs those that we addicts. Oxy gets the blame but no one speaks of hydro and roxy as real issues.

We all constantly got offered jobs to leave for more base. I’d take a Purdue employee over anyone else bc the work ethic and grit was unmatched. Not everyone is gonna agree, but if you look in the industry on where some of the Purdue employees careers have gone more likely than not they are employed. For example, my team alone 7/10 are now managers with most in specialty/hospital or rare disease roles.

 

It seems you're trying to change the subject....your statement about your colleagues' successes (or lack thereof) is completely off-base.

As far as your statement about Oxy getting all the blame...boo f*ing hoo...cry yourself a river, probably like you did when you'll all got laid off. Of course, the layoffs happened because Purdue was never complicit (ha ha).

Purdue has gotten the blame (and roxy and hydro have not) because Purdue...1. Paid off the pain societies, 2. Somehow got in bed with JCAHO to initiate pain as the 5th vital sign, 3.4.5. Look it ip yourself!!

The last I checked, the manufacturers of roxy and hydro never..1. Plead guilty in federal court of misbranding their products, 2. Haven't filed bankruptcy as an easy way out of the thousands of lawsuits, 3. 4.5. Read something besides that which Purdue provided you!!

Purdue is blamed because they are to blame, and you legacy reps are a big part of the problem. One of the best reps I ever worked with was a "legacy rep" and her bonus was slated to be huge, but she resigned right away after the Palm Spings meeting. I wondered why at the time because she stood to earn some BIG $$$. Now, I realize she left because she saw the light.

 

Not to mention Purdue paid $1 million to a company called Practice Fusion. This company inserted itself into patients' medical records and suggested that for specific patients , a long-acting opioid (such as Oxy) be prescribed. Even when it was inapproproate.

The consequences? Many deaths, one of which was a woman who died of a brain aneurysm. When she went to her primary, he ordered an MRI, but the software provided by Practice Fusion misrouted the order. She went home with Oxy. She was 47 y.o. and died.

Countless numbers of deaths are directly attributable to Purdue. There are so many bad deeds that Purdue has done, you as lowly sales reps, have absolutely no idea.

Like the above poster stated, read something besides the information Purdue provided you with!!