(AP/KMJ) California filed suit Monday against the maker of OxyContin and the company’s former president, alleging the firm falsely promoted the drug, downplaying the risk of addiction while it emerged as one of the most widely abused in the U.S. It is just the latest string of lawsuits targeting Purdue Pharma and the family behind it.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra accused Purdue and its former president, Dr. Richard Sackler, of stoking the crisis with irresponsible practices.
“Purdue and the Sacklers traded the health and well-being of Californians for profit and created an unprecedented national public health crisis in the process,” Becerra said at a news conference. “We will hold them accountable.”
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America’s most populous state is the latest to file a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma as the country grapples with a rising number of fatal drug overdoses linked to opioids.
Opioids were involved in more than 47,000 fatal overdoses during 2017 alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Purdue and other opioid manufacturers are facing lawsuits from state and local governments over the marketing and promotion of opioids.
In a statement Monday, Purdue Pharma and former directors of the company denied the allegations in the California lawsuit and vowed to defend against the “misleading attacks.”
It noted that OxyContin represents less than 2% of total opioid prescriptions and is still approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its intended use as a painkiller as prescribed by doctors and dispensed by pharmacists.
“The state is seeking to publicly vilify Purdue and its former directors while unfairly undermining the important work we have taken to address the opioid crisis,” the statement said.
