Former DEA official now working for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma
Demetra Ashley is a paid consultant to Purdue Pharma, now being sued for allegedly misrepresenting the risks of long-term use of opioid painkillers.
A former senior U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official who testified before Congress on the government's efforts to stop the opioid epidemic is now paid to advise one of the largest opioid manufacturers in the country, Purdue Pharma, according to people familiar with the matter.
Demetra Ashley, the former acting assistant administrator of the DEA who told a Senate committee in 2017 about the need for a "robust regulatory program" to stop the diversion of opioids and other controlled prescription drugs, left the DEA last spring and started a consulting firm called Dashley Consulting, LLC, according to her LinkedIn page.
Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, is one of the opioid companies being sued by more than 1,600 cities and counties for "grossly" misrepresenting "the risks of long-term use of those drugs for persons with chronic pain," according to court documents. The lawsuits have been consolidated into one case in federal court in Cleveland. Purdue vigorously denies allegations that it deceptively marketed OxyContin.
Ashley spent three decades at the DEA, specializing in preventing the diversion of prescription drugs like OxyContin.
Reached by NBC News on her cellphone in Chicago, Ashley said, "I have been consulting for members of the industry and I began my consulting business in June 2018 after I retired." Ashley said she could not confirm or deny who her clients are unless "they say it's OK."
Purdue declined comment to NBC News on its consultants.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/former-dea-official-now-working-oxycontin-maker-purdue-pharma-n984646