Purdue Pharma, which manufactures a range of pain medications such as OxyContin, announced yesterday that it would no longer promote opioid drugs to physicians, and has laid off more than 50 percent of its sales force.

In a statement to The Verge, a Purdue spokesperson says that “we have restructured and significantly reduced our commercial operation and will no longer be promoting opioids to prescribers.” Accordingly, the company has laid off more than 50 percent of its sales force, with the remaining employees focusing on non-opioid products. The company will still handle requests from doctors who have questions about drugs such as OxyContin, through its medical affairs department.

Purdue’s decision to halt its marketing for the drug is a step towards reducing the amount of drugs in the marketplace. But this feels like a situation of closing the barn doors after the horse has already galloped away, as the opioid crisis remains in full swing throughout the country.

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