Five prescription drug manufacturers tricked doctors into prescribing opioids, fueling a drug epidemic, Ohio’s attorney general says in a lawsuit.<\/b>
\nCINCINNATI \u2014 Five prescription drug manufacturers tricked doctors into prescribing opioids, fueling a drug epidemic that has killed thousands of people in Ohio, the state\u2019s attorney general said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit accuses Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Allergan of misleading doctors into over-prescribing opioids by downplaying the dangers of their drugs. Ohio leads the nation in the number of opiate overdose deaths. In 2015,3,050 people died of drug overdoses statewide.
\u00ab\u00a0It is just and it is right that the people who had a significant role in creating this mess in Ohio should clean it up, \u00a0\u00bb Attorney General Mike DeWine said at a news conference Wednesday.
Among the fake claims: Individuals would not become addicted to opioids if they were used as directed. The claims were printed in medical journals, shared by sales representatives and shared by third-party groups, DeWine said.
In the lawsuit, DeWine wants the companies to admit that their marketing was illegal. He also seeks an injunction to stop future fake claims and money for customers that DeWine says were deceived.
\u00ab\u00a0They knew all of it was wrong and they did it anyway, \u00a0\u00bb DeWine said.
Purdue Pharma contended that OxyContin accounted for less than 2% of the national opioid market. \u00ab\u00a0We share the attorney general\u2019s concerns about the opioid crisis and we are committed to working collaboratively to find solutions, \u00a0\u00bb according to a company-provided statement.
Janssen contended that the allegations were legally and factually unfounded. \u00ab\u00a0Janssen has acted appropriately, responsibly and in the best interests of patients regarding our opioid pain medications, which are FDA-approved and carry FDA-mandated warnings about the known risks of the medications on every product label, \u00a0\u00bb spokeswoman Jessica Castles Smith said in a statement.
Why file the lawsuit now? Prescription drugs have fueled Ohio’s drug crisis for years. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, both Democrats running for governor, have called on Ohio leaders to hold drug companies accountable.
Ohio and two dozen other states settled a lawsuit with Purdue Pharma in 2007 for $20 million over OxyContin. West Virginia settled with Cardinal Health for $20 million and AmerisourceBergen for $16 million after accusing them of violating state consumer protection laws. Mississippi recently sued manufacturers as well.
DeWine is expected to run for governor as a Republican. But DeWine insists it’s a moral obligation rather than political prospects driving this decision.
\u00ab\u00a0This is something I\u2019 ve looked at for some time, \u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0There\u2019s no magic time. There\u2019s no magic moment.\u00a0\u00bb
For Christina Arredondo of Frankfort, the moment could not come soon enough. She buried her 24-year-old daughter, Felicia Detty, in 2015 because of a heroin overdose. Detty was five-and-a-half months pregnant with Arredondo’s grandson at the time. She started using prescription pain pills when she was 18, after being prescribed Adderall.
Arredondo blames drug companies for how they marketed these drugs.
\u00ab\u00a0We’ve got to stop looking at (addiction) like it’s our fault. Because it’s not our fault, \u00a0\u00bb she said. \u00ab\u00a0I did nothing to cause this.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

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