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STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: How Purdue planted its ‘anti-story’; how much does that ‘free’ flu shot cost?
Good morning. Elizabeth Cooney here again in Boston while Ed Silverman completes another engagement abroad. It’s a busy day already, so let’s get started.
Purdue Pharma funded think tanks tapped by the media for expert commentary and facilitated publication of sympathetic articles in leading outlets where its role wasn’t disclosed, STAT and ProPublica report in a collaboration. Using tactics reminiscent of the oil and gas industry, which has been accused of promoting misleading science, and of Big Tobacco, the company and its public relations consultants aggressively countered criticism that its prized painkiller helped cause the opioid epidemic.
