This program is based on real events.
However, certain characters, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue
have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes.
But what is not fictionalized is my story.
My daughter Cassy died at 42 years old
after becoming addicted to OxyContin.
She was, you know, the spark for all of us in our family
and now all we have is pictures and memories of her.
It's just hard.
It's really hard.
["Psycho Killer" playing]
[Edie] When Arthur Sackler was preparing a new drug to hit the market,
he knew he needed to convince doctors to prescribe it.
So he came up with a brilliant idea for a new ad.
The ad contained business cards
from doctors who stood by the drug he was trying to sell.
The drug was very much real, but the doctors...
they were all made up.
Arthur made it clear it didn't matter
whether something was true.
What mattered was whether other people thought it was.
Arthur Sackler built the pharmaceutical industry we know today
and the pill was his sacrament.
[crowd applauding]
If he thought he could get away with it,
I think he would've put the drugs he was selling
directly into people's mouths.
Bless you.
- [Edie] And Richard Sackler... - Bless you.
...he would prove to be Arthur's greatest disciple.
[Arthur] There are two relevant human being types on the planet.
- [Richard] I'm with you. - Are you?
Absolutely.
- We've been over this. - Have we?
- Several times. - Fine. Then you tell me.
There are two types of human beings who matter,
creators and sellers.
They're equally important, sellers possibly more.
There's no greater talent
than the talent that stimulates the actual physical movement of a person
removing money from their wallet and handing it to you.
Correct.
- The closer is king. - The closer is God.
- I prefer "king." - Then make kings, Richard.
Go make kings.
Yes, sir.
[shouting]
[Edie] It really isn't hard to sell a drug that works the way OxyContin works.
You look adorable.
[Edie] It takes the pain away and, for a minute,
people think they're getting their lives back.
And they do... for a little while.
The sales force was out there,
and to really get the product into patients' hands,
they charmed the doctors.
By any means necessary.
Doctors are family.
- Our doctors are family. - We do not choose our family.
- We always come bearing gifts.
We always come bearing gifts.
- Our doctors are family. - Our doctors are family.
- We do not choose our family. - We do not choose our family.
- And we always come bearing gifts. - And we always come bearing gifts.
- Did you spill? - No.
- I told you to practice walking in those. - I did.
I need that D1 shit from you, Shannon.
Dr. Morris, I have one question for you. Why aren't you prescribing more OxyContin?
Your numbers are low.
This office is really a flu-and-stitches kind of operation.
We talked about this.
Everyone has pain that needs killing
and you're not killing enough pain, Daddy. Mm-mm.
Why don't I give you 25 coupons you can pass on to your patients?
Each one is redeemable for a free 30-day supply of OxyContin.
- Yeah, you-- You are...? - I'm Shannon Shaeffer.
- Nice to meet you. - [Morris] Shannon Shaeffer.
Do you come with the coupons, Shannon Shaeffer?
Excuse me?
[Morris] I'm just saying,
you're the cutest OxyContin kitten we've seen in a minute.
What the fuck is that?
- Shannon... - You are feisty.
- She's feisty. - She's still in training.
Why don't you cuddle up with this little guy,
get your numbers up, and I'll come back and check on you.
[in high-pitched voice] Hope to see you again,
you OxyContin kitten.
[moans]
You'll have to get used to that. When I said doctors are family,
- they can be your creepy uncle. - Fuck that guy.
No, fuck you. We're not in the medical business.
We're in the people business,
and doctors are very special people because everyone trusts them.
They trust them more than their politician, teachers, priests,
and more than their fucking parents.
So if a doctor tells you to do something, you do it.
[Edie] It's insidious that they're out there,
selling heroin like a fucking magazine subscription.
[Coyle] Is this a government car?
Nope.
This is your car?
- Is it safe? - Car's safer than I am.
This is a complete waste of time.
I'm doing this for your benefit, to corroborate your story.
If the 1,908 patients are real OxyContin patients,
then there's no problem.
I don't know what you want me to tell you. It's just a very popular drug.
It's a Schedule 2 narcotic. You don't use it for the sniffles.
Out.
You have a very unpleasant component to your personality.
- Are you aware? - Well aware.
- It's just a popular drug. - That's what I told her.
I've known Jim for decades. He's a good man.
I'm not here for a reference. I'm here to look at your records.
- You know I can't give you those. - You can and you will.
We can do this today and I can be out of your hair.
Or we do this tomorrow, I come back with a warrant
and a team of investigators eager to flip over every rock.
Who knows what we'll find.
Lewis, just do what the lady says.
- Who are you with again? - U.S. attorney's office in Roanoke.
[Coyle] Slipped disc,
- bad hip replacement. - [Edie] Hmm. Really?
Torn ACL, arthritis, his daughter Lyla, she had--
Come on, Ms. Flowers,
all these people have records going back years.
You can call anybody on this list. I swear I haven't done anything wrong.
Okay, the x-ray machine.
My wife wanted a boat. I'm not a criminal.
Lyla filled her prescription seven times.
- Yes. - For a boob job.
- Yeah. - That is a week on Vicodin, 10 mg max.
You prescribed 210 pills. That's over-prescribing.
I've seen it a thousand times.
- That's not what's going on here. - You know better.
- Let's get in the car. - Why? Where are we going?
To a pharmacy that's not run by your friend and then maybe another.
How long is this gonna take?
You're working for my ex-wife, aren't you?
[Edie] Why OxyContin?
[Coyle] It's safer, less addictive, and lasts longer than the alternative.
Well, it's proven. It's in the insert of the packages.
It's in the materials the gals leave.
- The gals? - No. That-- Get out of here.
- I just need my medication and I'll go. - [pharmacist] No, no. Leave.
No. Leave.
Robbie, did you see him come in?
I didn't. You want me to call the cops?
- [pharmacist] Yeah. - No, come on.
- No. No. Leave. Now. - Do you know what you're doing to me?
- Do you know how this feels? - Sir, you need to calm down.
You need to shut the fuck up. Last chance. Get my medicine!
- I'll spray you. - I want my fucking Oxy!
- Get out of here! Get! - [shouting]
[pharmacist] Go! Go! Did you already call the police?
- Goddamn it! - You son of a bitch!
- [man] I can't believe this shit! - Y'all better call the police.
Yo, yo! He's coming back!
- Move! - No, fuck! What are you doing?
- Get the fuck off! - [alarm ringing]
So I'm standing at a pharmacy in Carroll County...
- Give me the fucking Oxy! - Get him out of here!
Where is it?
...staring down at a stuffed toy for OxyContin,
a drug I had never heard of until a few days ago.
- Stay away from me! - [pharmacist] What are you doing? Riggs!
Get him out now!
Get off of me! Jesus!
- Get out of here! Seriously! - I'm blind! [screaming]
And I'm thinking, at some point in that Purdue marketing meeting,
someone said, "You know what we need to help us sell our Schedule 2 narcotic?
We need a big, furry, squishy,
fluffy, cuddly, stuffed OxyContin pill."
And so they designed a toy, had it manufactured
and shipped from China to Virginia,
a drug rep drove it all the way over to Carroll County,
put it in the hands of a pharmacist who was about to get jumped by a junkie,
and so that means the junkie knows about OxyContin.
- [pharmacist] Get out! - The pharmacist knows about OxyContin.
- I'm sorry. - The doctor knows about OxyContin.
It's a very popular drug.
Hell, even the people in China who made the toy know about OxyContin,
but I didn't know shit.
It came in under the radar somehow,
and that was the brilliance of the idea and why it spread so quickly.
When was the first time you heard of OxyContin?
Uh, about a month ago.
[Edie] What sort of pain killers were you prescribing before?
Would you say that these numbers look credible to you?
When was the first time you heard about OxyContin?
Eight months.
And would you say these numbers are accurate?
Yes, correct.
[Edie] I didn't know how dangerous this little pill was becoming.
It was a supply that created its own demand.
- [Shannon] Is this a doctor's office? - [Britt] Yeah.
Out in the sticks, some of these doctors work out of their own homes.
I thought you'd do this one alone.
- Really? - Yeah.
You got this, Shannon.
Hey, Shannon.
You got this shit.
[classic rock playing over speakers]
Hi, I'm here to see Dr. Fitzgibbons.
- Are you a patient? - I'm not.
My name's Shannon Shaeffer. I'm with Purdue Pharma.
- Okay. - How are you doing?
I'm good. Thank you.
Let your body do its job. You'll heal fine, okay?
- I will. Thanks. - All right.
- Say hi to your folks for me, will you? - [girl] I will.
- Thank you. - Yeah.
- Sports? - Yeah, volleyball.
Well, heal up before you get back out there.
Thanks. And you're really pretty, by the way.
- Oh! You're really pretty! - Thanks.
Dr. Fitzgibbons?
Do I know you?
We haven't met. I'm Shannon Shaeffer.
How are you today?
- What are you selling? - I'm with Purdue Pharma.
Oh, then I know who you are. I know what you're selling.
- Thanks. - If I could have one moment--
- I'm quite busy. - I don't mind.
I can wait until you have a second.
How old are you? Never mind.
I don't prescribe oxycodone or opioids like it to my patients,
unless it's for cancer or they're dying,
or they're dying of cancer, because it's addictive.
Well, do I have some good news for you, sir, because OxyContin is actually
a whole lot less addictive than all the other opioids.
- Are you kidding me? - No!
The rate of addiction is less than one percent.
How are you today?
Did you just make that up?
- No. - Well, that is a flat out lie.
You'll have to take that up with the New England Journal of Medicine.
Can I? Do you even know what the New England Journal of Medicine is?
Or is that some line they wrote for you?
- If I could refer you to this pamphlet-- - You can, thank you.
I will read that.
I want to ask your name again?
- I'm Shannon Shaeffer. - Shannon Shaeffer.
Well, let me ask you this,
the molecule in OxyContin is nearly identical to heroin,
do you think heroin is not addictive?
Oh, that's inaccurate.
They're just passing out Porsches to you cute little dandelions now?
No.
Oxycodone, that's what's in OxyContin.
Morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone,
diacetylmorphine, that is heroin,
all come from the opium poppy.
- Different names, same shit. - [tense music playing]
You don't know anything.
You're a teenager trying to sell me a Schedule 2 narcotic.
You are dangerous.
And you're dumb.
That makes you even more dangerous.
I'm gonna ask you to leave my office.
You're a drug dealer with a ponytail.
[yelling] Get out of my house!
[Shannon] Fucking asshole.
[Britt] I don't remember him to be that much of a fucking idiot.
Are they that similar?
Scientifically speaking? OxyContin and heroin?
It's like saying a fork and a machine gun are similar because they're both metal.
He wants to make you feel like he's smarter than you.
83% of doctors are men.
If it doesn't work to win him over with science,
you have to stroke his ego.
"Oh, Dr. Fitzgibbons, what a big, strong brain you have."
You just got to smile and do whatever it takes to win.
Did you smile?
I think so.
Show me.
Bigger.
Good.
...say that she heard that Mitch drove the Bronco
into the creek for insurance money.
The guy has gone half off his head.
He really has.
He can't see up or down. The boy's lost.
Can't find his way home,
he's so confused by where his dick's taking him.
All he did was make her have sex for two-- Yeah. He just kept her in the bed.
The girl was almost hysterical...
The car's a piece of junk, I tell you.
That's what you can say about these women. They do what they're told, by Larousse.
Those are some really, really wealthy...
She would've gone bang, bang, bang.
She never would've gone out of that chalet...
I knew a girl from Kazakhstan. She was a beautiful girl...
That's how desperate the guy is to get more women.
- "He says Circassian--" - One sec, Craig. One sec.
[grunts]
Okay, so...
- [Glen] I'm taking my pill. - [Lily] What?
- Not 'til 6:00. You have another hour. - [Glen] What?
- It's every 12 hours, right? - [Glen] It's been 12.
Six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, one, two, three, four, five.
You counted 6:00 and 7:00 as two hours.
6:00 to 7:00 is one hour. You have to wait.
It's only been 11 hours. I'm just saying...
You wanna go finish the tire?
- Just go help. - Finish that later.
[Glen] Yeah. Thank you.
My back, hon, is about to seize up.
If you could take it earlier, he would've said you could.
- [Glen] I know what the doctor said. - Can you stop?
I'll wait 58 minutes.
- How's that? - [Lily] Kryger Tires.
[Craig] Did you hear about Mitch? You know he drove his car into the creek?
For no good reason except a woman.
I just want to know if I can take them more often than every 12 hours.
Your body's building up a tolerance. It's pretty normal.
Right, so when I get a headache on hour eight,
or if I'm starting to feel pain before, I can take one?
Glen, you got to stick to 12 hours.
- But if it's working... - Which it is, obviously.
Good to hear. We can increase the dose.
Let's kick you up to 40 milligrams.
I don't understand why he can take a stronger one
and he can't take the weaker ones more often.
[Hartman] Not exactly how it works.
OxyContin was formulated to last 12 hours, and the folks at the FDA,
whose pay grades are way above mine, and who are much smarter than I am,
say that's how we gotta use it.
So that's how we're gonna use it.
Okay?
Do you want me to fill it?
- [Hartman] Oh, uh, Glen. - Yeah?
You think you might have any interest in sharing your story?
- [Lily clears throat] - What do you mean, my story?
Well, the folks who make OxyContin
asked doctors to send them patients
who've had a positive experience.
Like how? What-- What do you mean?
Well, I think that they would film you telling your story.
- What? - What, like on TV?
- Well, more like a... like a movie. - A movie?
- About me? - [Hartman] About you.
Aw, now you can finally be like your boyfriend, Kevin Costner.
- All right. - I gotta tell you, Lily.
He does look a bit like Kevin Costner.
- Thank you. This ends a 10-year debate. - If you do this with his hair.
- Babe... - He's more handsome.
[yawns] I'm gonna go to bed.
You gonna come?
I will in a bit.
Okay.
- Good night. - [Tyler] Good night.
- Don't stay up too late. - I won't.
[sighs]
[audience laughing on TV]
[snoring]
[ominous music playing]
[train horn blows]
- [Tanya] Did you get them? - [Tyler] Maybe.
Yeah, I got them.
Oh, yeah.
What do we do with these?
Swallow them.
You're sure you want these?
They're making my stepdad fucked up.
- Fuck yeah. - [Tyler] You want them?
- Yeah? Okay. - [boy] Yeah.
- [Tanya] That's the goal. - Yeah, okay.
Your turn, Ty.
- No, I'm all right. - Come on.
- Don't fuck out on me. - I got them for you.
- Hell, it's good for fucking. - Yeah, okay.
No, no, I'm all right.
[boy] I got the end of the cigarette you can have.
Hell yeah.
- [Shannon] I'm here to see Dr. Cooper. - [Cooper] That chocolate a bribe?
[Shannon] Yes, it is.
But it's up to your receptionist if she wants to share with you.
Oh! Well, it'll never happen.
[Shannon] Dr. Cooper, could I have three minutes of your time?
- Uh, I'll give you two. - That works.
I would love to talk to you about OxyContin.
- I've had patients ask me about that. - But you haven't prescribed it?
- No, I'm satisfied with the tools I have. - Well, your patients might not be.
[chuckles] My patients are fine. They're fine.
- Could I leave you some samples? - Not today.
Uh, you're lovely, but no, thank you.
- [Shannon] Is this your daughter? - Yeah, Emily.
Looks like regionals in Columbus.
It's bringing back memories.
She's got great form. Did she place?
Yeah. Fourth.
That's impressive.
She must work hard.
She certainly does.
- I miss it. - Really?
Yeah. I was a...
I did that for a long time.
Wow. Well, looking back, was it worth it?
Taught me discipline and hard work.
Taught me how to fail and get back up again.
I think about it every day
while I'm out here talking about treating people's pain.
Dr. Cooper, I've seen with my own eyes
how OxyContin can help people get their life back.
They either suffer in pain or they don't,
and nothing else is as effective.
Okay, wow. You really believe in that, don't you?
Yes, I do.
All right. Well, what do you have?
Great. I have, um...
this pamphlet that has some information and then coupons.
- Everybody loves coupons. - [Cooper] Yes.
[Shannon] My number is there if you need anything.
[Cooper] Thank you, Shannon...
- [Shannon] Shaeffer. That's me. - Shaeffer.
- Have a great day. - [woman] You too.
- Enjoy those chocolates. - [woman] Thank you, I will.
- Excuse me? - [woman] Hi there.
What was that woman's name? Did she have a card?
[Shannon] Oh, yeah!
[Britt laughs]
Thank you. And thank you too.
Thank you all for coming.
- Excuse me? Shannon? - Hi.
- Yeah?
You changed his mind.
- What? - The doctor.
He said "no." You convinced him to prescribe OxyContin.
- [Shannon] That's my job. - Hi. Who are you?
I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to her.
- How much did you just get paid for that? - That's none of your business.
- Was it a "first one's free" coupon? - Did you ask how much I make?
[Britt] Get in the car.
- Kind of a street dealer move. - In what world is that okay to ask?
- Got a nice bag, shoes. Expensive. - Who do you think you are?
How much money do you make? Probably nothing!
[Edie] Do you know what OxyContin is?
- If you don't get out of my way... - Mm-hm.
...I'll run you over with my car and crush your fucking skull.
Then you'll give me OxyContin to make it right?
- You don't wanna fuck with me. - Think I do.
You're a madam?
Fucking over the world for some Louis bags and a Porsche?
[car starting]
[engine revving]
[tires screeching]
[Edie] This was the moment I realized
this was bigger than any doctor or pharmacy.
It was like little sexy aliens had invaded rural America,
zipping from town to town in their Porsches,
handing out coupons for free opioids.
Getting people hooked on their product.
This was fucked up.
[Glen] OxyContin is incredible.
It's the first thing that has made me feel normal since my injury.
Ever since I started OxyContin, I haven't missed a day of work.
My boss is sure happy for that.
Seeing as I'm the boss, keeping these guys employed.
- Glen Kryger. - Randy. Your director today.
[Glen] Pleasure. Thanks for coming.
[Randy] It's an honor to meet you Glen. Good to be here.
Now, I can honestly say that I enjoy every day that I live.
- [Lily] Oh, God. Oh, God, don't stop. - [Glen] Oh, Jesus.
- Oh, honey. - Oh, God!
[Randy] That's great. That was great.
- Let's do it one more time. - Okay.
[Randy] This time don't look at her.
- Look right into the camera. - Okay. [clears throat]
I can honestly say that I enjoy every day that I live.
[Lily moaning]
We're back. We're back. We're back.
- Oh, shut up. - [laughs]
OxyContin gave me my life back.
[all] Yeah! [cheering]
The power of showmanship was injected into Richard's bloodstream
by his Uncle Arthur.
Richard Sackler knew how to sell.
The pain would get so intense,
it felt like somebody was taking my muscles in my back
and just twisting and twisting until it got so tight...
Now, I look completely different. I feel different.
Life is wonderful again.
[man] It felt like somebody had an ice pick all the time,
gouging down in my backbone, just wiggling.
People like publicity. Some people do. I don't.
[Johnny] It seemed like the pain goes right up to your brain.
It just devastates your brain, so...
[Glen] I ain't gonna lie.
I never thought I'd feel like this again.
I thought I was toast.
Thank you, Purdue Pharma.
OxyContin gave me my life back.
[crowd cheering]
- All right. - Thank you.
It means the world to me to know you're feeling better.
It's made a world of a difference with me and my family.
So thank you for what you're doing.
- Enjoy this. You deserve it. - [Glen chuckles]
[crowd applauding]
[gospel music playing]
[Lily] How was it? Are you famous?
I mean, Costner has nothing on this right now.
Rounds of applause.
- People waiting for pictures with moi. - What you got?
- [Lily] What'd you get? - You got lots of goodies, huh?
There was a light show. This is all free, by the way.
- Boom. - [gasps] Kaylee's gonna love this.
- I got you a Frisbee. - Kaylee. A little plushee!
- Like it? - Maybe now you'll catch more fish.
- I don't know. Honey, chocolates. - Oh. You are handsome.
Ooh! Thank you for these.
Uh, shirts for everyone. All this for free.
- [Lily] That's so weird. - [Glen] I know.
- [Glen clears throat] It was just uh... - [Lily] Hmm.
[Glen] It was kind of crazy.
Why would they give you a CD for swing music?
- Has anyone seen my pills? - [Lily] No.
[Glen] Maybe someone just moved them?
[Lily] Where did you take them last?
Uh, well, usually they're in their spot, right?
Okay, they're either here, the bedroom or the bathroom, so...
- [Lily] You want a chocolate? - [Tyler] Yes.
- Yeah, I do. Thank you. - [Glen whistling]
[Lily] Every song has the word "swing" in it.
- It's a swing CD. - This is gonna be me and Dad one day.
Just an old couple.
[continues whistling]
- Hey, babe. - [Lily] Yeah?
Are they in the bathroom, or...?
[Lily] Great, we got three of them.
[groans]
[Lily] I thought you said you were gonna leave them in the bedroom.
[Glen] No.
I mean, there's three spots, right?
Usually in the kitchen.
[Lily] That's why I told you to keep it in one spot, then you're not gonna lose them.
Did you check your jean pocket?
No, they're not in my jean pockets. I got a little bit of a headache, but...
- Um... - [Lily] What about...?
I don't understand why they're not in the spot.
I told you to keep them in one spot.
That's what I'm saying. They're not in there.
Double, triple check.
Guys, I just...
This is-- I'm just annoyed they're not where I left them.
No one's seen them?
[Lily] Mm-mm.
I don't know. Should we call the doc?
- [Lily] It's Sunday night. - I know.
We could call him at home?
Why would I have Dr. Hartman's home number?
- I don't know. It was a stupid question. - [Lily laughs] You're so weird.
[Glen] Well, I'll just take some, uh...
- Advil and... some more Advil. - [Lily] Okay? Are you gonna be okay?
- I think they're in-- Yeah. - [Lily] They're probably in the bathroom.
- [Lily] Can I keep this T-shirt? - [Glen] Yeah, of course.
[Lily] What do you think?
- ["Shimmy Shimmy Ya" playing on speakers] - Whoo!
My girl is killing it!
- Really? - Yes. Absolutely.
You saw it today, didn't you?
- I honestly wasn't sure. - Well, now you know.
Here.
- What's this? - Open it.
[Britt shouting]
- You've helped a lot of people. - $5,200?
Paid to the order of Shannon fucking Shaeffer.
Shannon fucking Shaeffer!
- No! - Yes!
That's you. How does that feel?
So fucking good.
You don't need anybody in this world.
You did that.
This is just the beginning.
♪ My producer slam My flow is like bam ♪
[grunts]
Glen, what are you doing?
Go back to bed.
What are you doing?
Would you shine a light for me?
What? Why?
[Glen] I think a bottle slipped down there.
[Lily] No, it didn't fall down there.
- Shine a light there, please? - [Lily] Shh. Can you--
- Shine a light down there. - [Lily] Be quiet. Shh.
- See if there's one... - [Lily] Can you move this side?
- [Glen] Do you see it? - Fuck.
- Yeah. - [Glen] You do?
I don't see it, sorry.
- Sure? - [Lily] I'm sure.
There's nothing down there.
- Can you just chill out for a second? - [Glen] I just...
Glen, your bottle's not gonna be under the fucking stove.
- Get up. - I know.
- [Lily] It's not gonna be back there. - There is something...
- No. It's not. Can you please get up? - Yeah. Yeah, it is.
Hey. Can you stop? Can you go sit down?
- I'll move it-- - Stop. Calm down. No.
- [Glen] I'm gonna move this. - You're being a psychopath.
- Can you stop? - Stop for one--
- Stop! Stop! - Jesus.
- Fine. - For one second!
[Lily] Fuck!
No! It's not gonna be back there!
Jesus, you're making so much fucking noise.
- [Glen] Lil... - [Lily] No.
Can you calm down?
Can you--? Christ! Can you stop?
See? What the hell is wrong with you?
[grunts]
- I told you... - Don't-- Don't eat-- What the fuck, Glen?
- What is wrong with you? - [Tyler] Here.
I found them. Here. Take them.
- Where did you find those? - In the bathroom.
[Lily] Where in the bathroom?
[Tyler] It was on the floor in the bathroom next to the toilet.
- No, it wasn't. - [Tyler] It was.
- The medicine cabinet next to-- - [Glen] Okay.
- Okay. Shut up, Ty. Okay. - Okay, stop.
[Lily] Are you okay? Do you wanna get up?
I'm just uncomfortable right now, I gotta move.
Okay, go back to bed, guys.
I gotta lay down.
[Lily] Okay, we're gonna talk about this in the morning.
Purdue designed a drug you had to take once every 12 hours,
even though it didn't last that long for most people.
Which meant for those people, twice a day, every day,
they went through some form of withdrawal.
OxyContin was a seriously flawed drug.
So you're saying the drug didn't actually work.
I said it was flawed, not that it didn't work.
But Richard didn't care about flaws.
He only cared about proving it was effective in suppressing pain.
And that started with furry little mice.
[man] Dr. Richard.
What am I observing?
Is this anything to be concerned about?
No, no, this is standard.
When did it receive the dose?
[man] Fourteen minutes ago.
She's feeling the effects.
Any of the mice died?
So far, no.
Wonderful.
[Edie] Next, are human trials.
In this phase,
you need to prove your drug effectively does what you claim.
If it doesn't, no approval.
The first human trials for OxyContin took place in Puerto Rico,
with women who were recuperating from gynecological surgery.
For the second phase,
they ran more trials with cancer patients at several hospitals in the U.S.
And in Phase 3,
Purdue conducted large-scale clinical trials across the country
with over 1,000 patient volunteers.
I reviewed those trials and two things stuck out to me.
Number one, they were a damn mess.
When taken off the opioids, many experienced withdrawal,
just like a human would.
Chattering teeth, abdominal pain, and tremors.
As for the human trials, OxyContin is supposed to last 12 hours.
In Puerto Rico, half didn't make it through the night without more medication.
Please, nurse!
[screaming]
[Edie] In one trial of 164 cancer patients,
a third of them dropped out.
They found the treatment ineffective,
or had adverse experiences or breaking protocol.
[Brianna] What do you mean by "breaking protocol"?
[Edie] They didn't have to report certain incidents.
I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine.
Stop! You can't--
[Edie] In trial after trial, patients dropped out,
complained the drug didn't last as long as it should,
and were asking for more oxycodone to get them through.
Like I said, the drug was effective.
It was just incredibly flawed.
You said there were two things.
The other is that it didn't even fucking matter,
because normally, according to the FDA, this was all acceptable.
The mice didn't die. So, technically, OxyContin is safe.
And more than half of the patients reported
OxyContin sufficiently relieved their pain.
So, technically the drug works.
All of that is cooked up into a new drug application.
As far as anyone can tell,
Purdue had an application that would sail through the FDA.
You would hope that an application is reviewed
by a panel of experts poring over every detail.
Shit don't work that way.
What most people don't understand about the FDA
is they're a small government agency
that more often than not takes a company's word for it.
When a new product comes through, they don't test anything themselves.
They review what they're given.
For drugs, this process usually comes down to just one person.
And for OxyContin, his name was Curtis Wright.
Richard thought Curtis was just a formality.
Richard was wrong.
[Curtis] This is Curtis Wright at the FDA.
I completed my analysis of the NDA,
and I gotta say, Dr. Sackler, I have some legitimate concerns.
There's plenty that we need to go through.
We can set a time, or I can run through things now.
I'm happy to provide this signature.
There's a couple things to address.
This is for doctors deciding to prescribe or not prescribe.
There should be no emotion in this application at all.
So, Curtis Wright was a problem.
Richard had spent a shit ton of money,
assuming he'd walk right through the FDA approval.
But they found the one guy who gave a shit.
This is fine.
This is... This is part of the process.
We're overreaching here, Richard.
- I have concerns. - I also have concerns.
[Raymond] This doesn't need to be a miracle drug for everyone.
- [Mortimer] You're overreaching. - Yeah. Yeah.
Let's just backtrack,
and let's get this drug approved as a replacement for MS Contin.
- [Mortimer] A bird in the hand. - Yeah. A bird in the goddamn hand.
If we do that, we won't make enough money to cover our losses
and then we really are done.
We'd just bleed out slowly waiting for approval,
and there is nothing coming down the pipeline to pick up the slack.
So drip, drip, drip.
We'll be lucky if we can sell the company before declaring Chapter 11.
Oh, come on, son.
[Richard] You guys like having your names on the walls of museums?
You like that? Because I'm trying to keep them there.
If we don't do this, we're dead.
- Dead? - Yeah, that's right. Dead.
- Broke. You have any better ideas? - [Mortimer] Cancer.
We own cancer.
- Stick with cancer. - I love cancer.
I'm happy with cancer, but the numbers do not add up.
[smoke detector beeps]
[beeping continues]
[Arthur] You're looking at the numbers incorrectly.
I know how to read the numbers.
Whose numbers are they?
The numbers are the science, and the science is the fucking science.
Yes. But who do they belong to?
You. They belong to you.
The numbers don't belong to the science, they belong to you.
They're little building blocks you use to tell the story.
So, tell me the story.
The story is the numbers are lousy.
Yeah. See, I don't like that story.
That's a story about a roof.
That story supposes there's a roof over my head.
There's no roof.
Roof.
That is an object presenting an illusion of mass
in between my head and an infinite universe.
Get the roof out of the story.
You use the numbers to tell your story.
[beeping continues]
And when you're done,
I want you to tell Curtis Wright a story that has no roof.
Okay?
[beeps]
Richard had learned from Arthur
that the difference between a struggling company
and a prosperous one is perception.
[knocking on door]
Oh, hi. Yes. Come on in. Hi. Hi. Dr. Curtis Wright.
- Dr. Richard Sackler. - [Curtis] Pleasure.
- Dr. Raymond Sackler. - Thanks for being here.
- Dr. Mortimer Sackler. - Hi. Welcome.
Thanks for being here. I really appreciate it.
- [Richard] Thanks for seeing us. - Oh, of course. Uh--
Should we sit?
Yeah, we'll stand.
So you claim that OxyContin has a higher margin of safety.
Oh. We're not claiming. It does.
You know, you may very well be correct.
During our trials less than 0.3 percent of patients exhibited any signs of abuse.
- [groans] - Bonnie!
But were you testing for abuse?
- Mr. Wright-- - It's "doctor." Dr. Wright.
Dr. Wright.
Well, we can't possibly entertain every hypothetical situation.
Of course. And I'm not asking you to entertain every hypothetical situation.
Just the one.
I'm concerned with the potency of the tablet.
Are we gonna get approved or not?
Not today.
- Why not? - There's a lot of drug in the tablet.
There's a lot of dick in my pants about to go straight up your--
I think I need a Valium. Have you got a Valium?
I have no Valium.
Nobody's got a Valium in this company? What is this?
I can get you a Valium.
- I don't think Valium is a good idea. - There's no Valium!
- You're the boss, not him? - Yes!
- I'm saying no fucking Valium! - Am I getting him Valium?
- You need a Valium or not? - [Raymond] No!
You don't have to yell at me!
One shot. This better work.
This had better work, son.
I know we have Seconal. That'll knock you right out.
[Edie] So Richard is burning through money.
This mid-level bureaucrat has them by the balls.
'Cause Curtis Wright probably knew, like everyone else,
that heroin in pill form is highly dangerous.
A drug in that form, it doesn't just kill people,
it destroys the families and friends,
the businesses and dreams of everyone around them.
When that happens to you, when that happens to your family,
you are changed forever.
Are you speaking from experience?
Yes, I am.
Shit.
[door lock buzzes]
What's up?
- Hey, Shawn. - Been a year already?
Yes. You say that every year.
So, what's up?
What do you want me to tell Mom?
Why you keep doing this?
I don't have to come if you don't want me to.
Tell her I love her, I'm thinking about her and happy birthday.
- I'll do that. - Bye, sis.
["Daydream" playing]
♪ What a day for a daydream... ♪
[Lily] Want another blueberry?
Open up. Oop!
She already had a fruit packet before we left the house.
[Lily chuckles] I know.
- She loves her blueberries. - Mad about the blueberries.
- They put bacon in this. - I'll take it if you don't want it.
No, no. I'm not complaining.
- You think I could order a coffee? - [Lily] Mm-mm.
- Ty, no. - [Tyler] Why not?
[Lily] Last time you had one, you were up all night.
I need it to focus. I don't understand why it's a big deal
- if everybody else has a coffee. - Why not have a decaf?
[Tyler] Decaf defeats the purpose.
- Why drink it? It doesn't taste good. - You won't sleep tonight.
- [Tyler] Trust me. - Have a coffee.
Glen says I can have a coffee.
- [Lily] Fine have a coffee, but... - [Tyler] That's what I said.
- Kaylee needs a coffee. - [Lily] Sticking the blueberries in.
- Can I have another one? - [bone cracking]
Dada's hand's bleeding.
- [Lily] Oh, my... - [Kaylee] He's got blood on his hand.
[Lily] Oh, my God. Glen, did you bite your hand?
What did you do? You're covered in blood. Oh, God.
- [Taylor] Need some more? - [Lily] Grab more napkins.
- Here. Hold this. - I'll clean it.
I'll clean it.
[Lily] Oh, my-- Oh, my God! Get up!
Glen! Glen, are you okay?
Glen, try to look at me.
- What's going on? - [Lily] I don't know! I don't know!
- [man] Is he choking? - [Lily] No! Can somebody call 911?
- [man] Is he breathing? - [Lily] I don't think he's breathing.
Just... Look at me. Look at me.
- Glen! - [man] Sir? Sir?
[Lily] Somebody call 911!
Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?
[man] Jesus Christ! Stay with him.
Stay with him. Stay with him.
- Did someone call an ambulance? - [man] There's somebody on the way!
[Lily] He's not breathing! He's not breathing!
- Somebody call an ambulance? - Somebody on the way?
- Damn! Come on! Stay with us! - Somebody help!
- Come on! - Stop!
Don't fucking die on us!
[Lily] Look at me, Glen!
[ominous music playing]