WHO MESSED UP? –
Aug. 7, 2023 – How political red tape and a drug company’s thirst for profits limited the reach of a drug that experts believe could have reduced the opioid epidemic’s toll. The writer interviewed dozens of sales reps, executives, doctors, patients, researchers, investigators for this article. In 2005, J. was a young pharmacist, in the middle of a divorce, when he decided he needed a change. He was outgoing, a former rugby player, and he had begun to feel out of place among his quiet co-workers. “Does a pharmacist ever come over to you and chitchat?” he says. “They’re very mousy and very introverted.”
For his new job, J. — who asked to be referred to by his first initial to protect his privacy — had in mind something a little more glamorous: pharmaceutical sales. He found a contract position at Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. subsidiary of a household-goods company based in Britain that was best known for Lysol and French’s mustard.
