Randy Krehbiel
Tulsa World Reporter
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An agreement separating the foundation holding $200 million from a 2019 consent decree between the state and Purdue Pharmaceuticals and Oklahoma State University has been finalized, Attorney General Gentner Drummond said Thursday.
The agreement allows the National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment Foundation to keep most of the assets from the 2019 settlement — including nonfinancial assets such as research samples and databases — and the National Center for Wellness and Recovery name, which originally belonged to the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.
OSU-CHS is to receive $20 million-plus reimbursement for several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of renovations to Tulsa campus to house the NCASTF.
Some are concerned that the split releases the foundation — and the $200 million accepted by then-Attorney General Mike Hunter on behalf of the state in lieu of pursing a lawsuit in state court — from state control. It is unclear where the center’s physical address will be or to what extent its board will be controlled by Oklahoma interests.
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However, the center remains subject to the underlying consent decree, which says the center’s mission “will be to improve the lives of Oklahomans and individuals across the nation that are affected by pain and substance use through exceptional programs focused on research, education, prevention, treatment, elimination of stigma associated with addiction, and public policy initiatives.”
That mission statement seems to be at the heart of the split. OSU-CHS wants to emphasize treatment, prevention and education, while the center’s lead researcher Don Kyle and some of the foundation board members, including president Tucker Link of Tulsa, want to focus on translating Purdue Pharmaceuticals’ research on pain and addiction into new, non-addictive drugs and drugs to counter addiction.
The University of Arizona, which also has an affiliation with the NCWR, recently published an in-house article about the two working on an opioid antagonist to reverse fentanyl overdoses.
“This agreement marks a significant advancement and opportunity for public health in Oklahoma,” Link said in the same press release issued by Drummond’s office. “While our partnership with Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences has been dynamic and productive, this transition better enables the National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment Foundation to continue and expand its capabilities and permanency in Oklahoma, and its commitment to developing and validating important new clinical tools that are essential to reverse the course of the opioid crisis for Oklahoma and the nation.”
“This transition enables OSU-CHS to deepen our commitment to providing excellent clinical care and training health care professionals,” OSU-CHS President Johnny Stephens said. “Our focus on treatment aligns perfectly with our mission as a health sciences center and allows us to make an immediate, measurable impact for those struggling with addiction.”
Drummond, who negotiated the agreement to avoid a lawsuit between the two parties, said it will allow OSU-CHS to focus on “comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to addiction and pain management through education and clinical care without the distraction of NCAST’s divergent mission and objectives.”
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com
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Randy Krehbiel
Tulsa World Reporter
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