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Barry Meier | |
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| Born | 1949[1] |
| Alma mater | Syracuse University |
| Occupation(s) | Author Columnist |
Barry Meier is a writer and formerNew York Times journalist who wrote the 2003 non-fiction bookPain Killer: A Wonder Drug's Trail of Addiction and Death.[2] His articles "have led to Congressional hearings and changes in federal laws".[1]
Meier studied atSyracuse University.[1]
In his career as journalist, Meier has specialized in reporting on business, public policy, and health and safety.[1] He reported forThe Wall Street Journal for five years,[1] worked atNew York Newsday as a special projects reporter,[1] and reported forThe New York Times. According to hisThe Times profile, his articles published byThe Times and elsewhere "have led to Congressional hearings and changes in federal laws."[1]
In 2001, Meier began investigatingPurdue Pharma andOxyContin,[3] when it was still a relatively unknown drug made by a relatively unknown family, the Sacklers, includingMortimer Sackler and his brotherRaymond Sackler, their children and grandchildren—at that time "one of the wealthiest families in the United States".[4] In an August 24, 2001 Meier recorded an interview with Purdue CEO Michael Friedman and executives Howard Udell and Dr. Paul Goldenheim, who told Meier "they had learned of OxyContin’s growing abuse only in early 2000, a statement they also made before congressional committees".[4] They said the company had undertaken a "massive marketing campaign", based on a "unique claim" for OxyContin, with FDA permission, that, "as a long-acting opioid, it might be less likely to cause abuse and addiction than shorter-acting painkillers likePercocet."[4] In 2001 Meier publishedPain Killer: A Wonder Drug's Trail of Addiction and Death.[2] A 2004New York Times review of the book concluded:
For years, doctors who prescribed OxyContin were told that the risk of addiction to the painkiller was less than 1 percent. Only after the drug had devastated thousands of lives was it revealed that this figure, touted as scientific fact, was based on a small study that had no relevance for the general public.[3]
The Painkiller, a television miniseries was based on Meyer's bookPain Killer and "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain", aNew Yorker article byPatrick Radden Keefe.[5] The series premiered on Netflix on August 10, 2023.[6][7]
Meier's 2021 book entitledSpooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies focused on the formerThe Wall Street Journal journalist,Glenn R. Simpson and the company he founded and co-owned—Fusion GPS—the spy they hired—Christopher Steele—and his report—theSteele dossier prior to the2016 United States presidential election.[8][9][10]
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
