Glaxo dragged into US drug abuse crisis

GLAXOSMITHKLINE was facing embarrassment last night after one of its board members was named in a lawsuit over the US opioid crisis.

Judy Lewent, one of the British drugs giant’s non- executive directors, is a defendant in a case brought against Purdue Pharma by the state of Massachusetts.

The 69-year-old was a non-executive director of the American firm for about four years, leaving in 2014.

It has since been accused of illegally promoting the use of opioids. Lewent and other board members are accused of receiving reports containing evidence that patients were being harmed by the use of painkillers but allowing deceptive marketing of the drugs to continue.

It is the latest headache for Glaxo chief executive Emma Walmsley, who is already trying to overhaul the company, fend off competition from generic rivals and deal with ongoing enquiries from the Serious Fraud Office over a bribery scandal in China. Glaxo’s annual report shows Lewent was paid more than £360,000 by Glaxo last year, while she also chairs its audit and risk committee. A spokesman for Glaxo declined to comment on whether the lawsuit would affect her responsibilities at the firm.

There were also questions, however, about why Lewent’s previous role at Purdue had been removed from a biography on the company’s website.

Glaxo added the information back after enquiries from the Financial Times newspaper, saying the altered text had been updated and approved by Lewent.

Last night the company said she had declined to comment.

The American opioid epidemic is killing more than 100 people a day and has been branded ‘the worst drug crisis in American history’ by President Trump.

Purdue, which makes opioid medication Oxycontin, is alleged to have misled doctors and patients over the risks of addiction and death associated with the prolonged use of its drugs.

The civil action against it, filed in Suffolk County Superior Court, is one of a number filed by state governments.

But the Massachusetts case goes further than others by naming its executives, board members and Purdue’s owners, the Sackler family, as defendants.

More than 670 Massachusetts residents who were prescribed Purdue’s opioids have died of overdoses since 2009, it is alleged. The lawsuit seeks damages and penalties.

Purdue denies the allegations and argues its drugs were approved by regulator the US Food and Drug Administration.

In total, Purdue faces more than 20 lawsuits in different states over its role in the opioid crisis.

Last night a Glaxo spokesman said: ‘It is not appropriate for GSK to comment on legal matters faced by another company.’