In this L.A. Times report, the newspaper brings to light a new effort by Purdue Pharma to push the drug in the next markets, Asia, Central/South America, and elsewhere.
From the article, this telling paragraph:
‘Talking about big money’
Untreated pain is a global scourge. Each year millions with terminal cancer and end-stage AIDS die in needless agony, according to the United Nations. The problem is most acute in the poorest countries.
Stefano Berterame, an officer of the U.N.-affiliated International Narcotics Control Board in Vienna, works to increase access to opioids in countries with shortages. He said most of the global problem could be solved with “very cheap morphine” but that selling it held little allure for multinational drug companies
“It’s not very profitable,” he said. “Companies prefer to market expensive preparations.”
Good reading …