Purdue Pharma wins award for drug abuse-deterrent website

STAMFORD, Conn. – A drug-safety website operated by drug maker Purdue Pharma has won accolades from an international awards program for marketing and communications.

RxSafetyMatters.org won the 2013 Communicator Award for best mobile site in the category of Health and Wellness. The site is designed to help healthcare professionals, law enforcement officials and consumers learn about the dangers of illegal trafficking and abuse of prescription drugs and provide information on programs and resources to deter medication abuse and misuse.

"We thought it was important to design this resource to be mobile-friendly, given the growing number of people who are using handheld devices to search for information online," Purdue Pharma senior director of public affairs Jim Heins said. "The mobile site allows users to easily read, download and share the resources offered on the site."

Purdue Pharma markets the prescription painkiller OxyContin (oxycodone) extended-release tablets, an opioid drug that has often been a target of drug abuse. The company now only sells a formulation of the drug that contains abuse-deterrent properties to discourage crushing and dissolving the pills for snorting and injection.

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