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Kentucky Judge May Unseal Secret OxyContin Testimony Next Week

Somsak Sudthangtum, 123rf Stock Photo

A Kentucky Judge says he will decide next week whether to unseal the secret testimony from a former president of the company that markets the addictive painkiller OxyContin. 

Health website Statnews.com (owned by Boston Glob owner John W. Henry) says Pike County Circuit Judge Steven Combs made the comment Friday. The website is seeking to unseal some 17 million pages of Kentucky's lawsuit against Purdue Pharma. Chief among them is a deposition by Richard Sackler, a former company president and a member of the family that controls the company.

Kentucky sued Purdue Pharma in 2007, accusing the company of lying about the addictiveness of the drug. They settled the case in December for $24 million.

Purdue Pharma attorney Trevor Wells says the documents should stay hidden because they were never used as the basis for a court decision.

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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