Subject of ‘Baby Doe’ civil suit Purdue Pharma pleads guilty to federal charges related to Oxycontin

Oxycontin giant Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy and kickbacks to a three-decade scheme to push opioid use—resulting in millions in profits and a new generation of addicts.

Purdue is also named in a civil suit filed by a collective of district attorneys across Northeast Tennessee in what has become known as the ‘Baby Doe’ case.

The suit was filed in 2017 and aims to hold drug companies accountable for the death and disability that accompanied Oxycontin’s presence in pharmacies and the black market. That also includes the sobering increases of babies born addicted to drugs or Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.

That case has been delayed following the pause in court cases ordered by the Tennessee Supreme Court due to the pandemic.

(IMAGE: State of Tennessee / Offices of District Attorney Generals)