A high-ranking official at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has tendered his resignation following a report by the Associated Press regarding his past involvement with the pharmaceutical industry.
Louis Milione, the former principal deputy administrator for the DEA, served as a consultant for major pharmaceutical companies, including Perdue Pharma, for a period of four years. Perdue Pharma is notorious for its connection to the nation’s opioid epidemic, as it introduced the highly addictive drug OxyContin, which is widely believed to have precipitated the crisis.
Milione was compensated at a rate of $600 per hour for his services to Perdue Pharma, which primarily involved assisting the company in navigating legal challenges related to its marketing of OxyContin. He also worked for Morris & Dickson, the fourth-largest wholesale drug distributor in the U.S., providing testimony in favor of the company’s continued supply of painkillers to medical facilities despite a federal judge’s discovery that the company had failed to identify thousands of suspicious orders during the opioid crisis, jeopardizing its licensing status.
Upon joining DEA Administrator Anne Milgram as her principal deputy in 2021, Milione brought with him 21 years of prior experience at the agency, which he departed in 2017. During his hiatus from the DEA, he embarked on a consulting career, collaborating with companies he had previously regulated.
This report includes information from the Associated Press.
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