Painkiller (2023) s01e02 Episode Script

1
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.
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.
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.
- And Richard Sackler
- Bless you.
he would prove to be
Arthur's greatest disciple.
There are two relevant
human being types on the planet.
- 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.
It really isn't hard to sell a drug
that works the way OxyContin works.
You look adorable.
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 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.
- Shannon Shaeffer.
Do you come with the coupons,
Shannon Shaeffer?
Excuse me?
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.
Hope to see you again,
you OxyContin kitten.
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.
It's insidious that they're out there,
selling heroin
like a fucking magazine subscription.
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.
Slipped disc,
- bad hip replacement.
- 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?
Why OxyContin?
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.
- No, no. Leave.
No. Leave.
Robbie, did you see him come in?
I didn't. You want me to call the cops?
- 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!
Go! Go! Did you already call the police?
- Goddamn it!
- You son of a bitch!
- 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!
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!
- What are you doing? Riggs!
Get him out now!
Get off of me! Jesus!
- Get out of here! Seriously!
- I'm blind!
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.
- 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.
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.
I didn't know how dangerous
this little pill was becoming.
It was a supply
that created its own demand.
- Is this a doctor's office?
- 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.
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?
- 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.
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.
Get out of my house!
Fucking asshole.
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.
Okay, so
- I'm taking my pill.
- What?
- Not 'til 6:00. You have another hour.
- What?
- It's every 12 hours, right?
- 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.
Yeah. Thank you.
My back, hon, is about to seize up.
If you could take it earlier,
he would've said you could.
- I know what the doctor said.
- Can you stop?
I'll wait 58 minutes.
- How's that?
- Kryger Tires.
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.
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?
- Oh, uh, Glen.
- Yeah?
You think you might have any interest
in sharing your story?
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?
- 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.
I'm gonna go to bed.
You gonna come?
I will in a bit.
Okay.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Don't stay up too late.
- I won't.
- Did you get them?
- 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.
- You want them?
- Yeah? Okay.
- Yeah.
- 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.
I got the end of the cigarette
you can have.
Hell yeah.
- I'm here to see Dr. Cooper.
- That chocolate a bribe?
Yes, it is.
But it's up to your receptionist
if she wants to share with you.
Oh! Well, it'll never happen.
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.
My patients are fine. They're fine.
- Could I leave you some samples?
- Not today.
Uh, you're lovely, but no, thank you.
- 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.
- Yes.
My number is there
if you need anything.
Thank you, Shannon
- Shaeffer. That's me.
- Shaeffer.
- Have a great day.
- You too.
- Enjoy those chocolates.
- Thank you, I will.
- Excuse me?
- Hi there.
What was that woman's name?
Did she have a card?
Oh, yeah!
Thank you. And thank you too.
Thank you all for coming.
- Excuse me? Shannon?
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Yeah?
You changed his mind.
- What?
- The doctor.
He said "no."
You convinced him to prescribe OxyContin.
- 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?
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!
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?
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.
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.
Pleasure. Thanks for coming.
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.
- Oh, God. Oh, God, don't stop.
- Oh, Jesus.
- Oh, honey.
- Oh, God!
That's great. That was great.
- Let's do it one more time.
- Okay.
This time don't look at her.
- Look right into the camera.
- Okay.
I can honestly say
that I enjoy every day that I live.
We're back. We're back. We're back.
Oh, shut up.
OxyContin gave me my life back.
Yeah!
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.
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.
It seemed like the pain
goes right up to your brain.
It just devastates your brain, so
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.
- 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.
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?
- What'd you get?
- You got lots of goodies, huh?
There was a light show.
This is all free, by the way.
- Boom.
- 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.
- That's so weird.
- I know.
- It was just uh
- Hmm.
It was kind of crazy.
Why would they give you
a CD for swing music?
- Has anyone seen my pills?
- No.
Maybe someone just moved them?
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
- You want a chocolate?
- Yes.
Yeah, I do. Thank you.
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.
- Hey, babe.
- Yeah?
Are they in the bathroom, or?
Great, we got three of them.
I thought you said you were
gonna leave them in the bedroom.
No.
I mean, there's three spots, right?
Usually in the kitchen.
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
- 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?
Mm-mm.
I don't know. Should we call the doc?
- 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.
- You're so weird.
Well, I'll just take some, uh
- Advil and some more Advil.
- Okay? Are you gonna be okay?
- I think they're in Yeah.
- They're probably in the bathroom.
- Can I keep this T-shirt?
- Yeah, of course.
What do you think?
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.
- 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 ♪
Glen, what are you doing?
Go back to bed.
What are you doing?
Would you shine a light for me?
What? Why?
I think a bottle slipped down there.
No, it didn't fall down there.
- Shine a light there, please?
- Shh. Can you
- Shine a light down there.
- Be quiet. Shh.
- See if there's one
- Can you move this side?
- Do you see it?
- Fuck.
- Yeah.
- You do?
I don't see it, sorry.
- Sure?
- I'm sure.
There's nothing down there.
- Can you just chill out for a second?
- I just
Glen, your bottle's not gonna be
under the fucking stove.
- Get up.
- I know.
- 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.
- I'm gonna move this.
- You're being a psychopath.
- Can you stop?
- Stop for one
- Stop! Stop!
- Jesus.
- Fine.
- For one second!
Fuck!
No! It's not gonna be back there!
Jesus, you're making
so much fucking noise.
- Lil
- No.
Can you calm down?
Can you? Christ! Can you stop?
See? What the hell is wrong with you?
- I told you
- Don't Don't eat What the fuck, Glen?
- What is wrong with you?
- Here.
I found them. Here. Take them.
- Where did you find those?
- In the bathroom.
Where in the bathroom?
It was on the floor
in the bathroom next to the toilet.
- No, it wasn't.
- It was.
- The medicine cabinet next to
- Okay.
- Okay. Shut up, Ty. Okay.
- Okay, stop.
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.
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.
Dr. Richard.
What am I observing?
Is this anything to be concerned about?
No, no, this is standard.
When did it receive the dose?
Fourteen minutes ago.
She's feeling the effects.
Any of the mice died?
So far, no.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
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!
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.
What do you mean by "breaking protocol"?
They didn't have to
report certain incidents.
I don't know.
Your guess is as good as mine.
Stop! You can't
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.
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.
This doesn't need
to be a miracle drug for everyone.
- You're overreaching.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Let's just backtrack,
and let's get this drug approved
as a replacement for MS Contin.
- 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.
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?
- Cancer.
We own cancer.
- Stick with cancer.
- I love cancer.
I'm happy with cancer,
but the numbers do not add up.
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.
And when you're done,
I want you to tell Curtis Wright a story
that has no roof.
Okay?
Richard had learned from Arthur
that the difference
between a struggling company
and a prosperous one is perception.
Oh, hi. Yes. Come on in. Hi.
Hi. Dr. Curtis Wright.
- Dr. Richard Sackler.
- Pleasure.
- Dr. Raymond Sackler.
- Thanks for being here.
- Dr. Mortimer Sackler.
- Hi. Welcome.
Thanks for being here.
I really appreciate it.
- 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.
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?
- 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.
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.
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.
What a day for a daydream ♪
Want another blueberry?
Open up. Oop!
She already had a fruit packet
before we left the house.
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?
- Mm-mm.
- Ty, no.
- Why not?
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?
Decaf defeats the purpose.
- Why drink it? It doesn't taste good.
- You won't sleep tonight.
- Trust me.
- Have a coffee.
Glen says I can have a coffee.
- Fine have a coffee, but
- That's what I said.
- Kaylee needs a coffee.
- Sticking the blueberries in.
Can I have another one?
Dada's hand's bleeding.
- Oh, my
- He's got blood on his hand.
Oh, my God.
Glen, did you bite your hand?
What did you do?
You're covered in blood. Oh, God.
- Need some more?
- Grab more napkins.
- Here. Hold this.
- I'll clean it.
I'll clean it.
Oh, my Oh, my God! Get up!
Glen! Glen, are you okay?
Glen, try to look at me.
- What's going on?
- I don't know! I don't know!
- Is he choking?
- No! Can somebody call 911?
- Is he breathing?
- I don't think he's breathing.
Just Look at me. Look at me.
- Glen!
- Sir? Sir?
Somebody call 911!
Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?
Jesus Christ! Stay with him.
Stay with him. Stay with him.
- Did someone call an ambulance?
- There's somebody on the way!
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!
Look at me, Glen!