Quartz Documentary: How to Sell Drugs

Following a year-long investigation into Purdue Pharma’s international arm, Quartz has produced a 40-minute documentary — How to Sell Drugs — examining the company’s overseas opioid marketing practices.

Mundipharma, the UK-based international arm of Purdue Pharma, is using the same marketing practices that landed Purdue at the center of massive multi-district litigation in the US — including paying medical professionals and researchers to conduct studies pointing to the effectiveness of opioids in treating chronic pain while downplaying the risks associated with taking them long-term.

Quartz reporters filmed inside a black market opioid factory in Pakistan and visited an industry-sponsored medical conference in France. The film includes interviews with a former Purdue Pharma sales rep, several pain specialists, public health watchdogs, and Mundipharma-sponsored consultants and organizations. With novel voices, statistics, and footage, the resulting documentary film paints a complex picture of a burgeoning opioid crisis overseas.

Watch How to Sell Drugs here. The documentary is currently available to Quartz members only. Learn more about the benefits of Quartz Membership or sign up here.