Columbus sues opioid makers, distributors
‘What we need is money to treat the problem.’
Columbus is suing drug manufacturers, distributors and others who city officials think are responsible for the opioid crisis.
The city filed the lawsuit Friday afternoon against three distributors, including Dublin-based Cardinal Health, five manufacturers and three individuals in U.S. District Court in Columbus. The city joins dozens of other governments across the country, including Cincinnati and Dayton, that have filed similar lawsuits.
The lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages Columbus is seeking, but city Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. said “this is going to be a big number.”
“What we need is money to treat the problem,” he said. “What you’re talking about is a number that’s not cheap.”
Among the other companies and individuals named in the lawsuit are pharmaceutical companies Purdue Pharma, a company that manufactures OxyContin; Teva, Johnson & Johnson, McKesson Corp. and AmerisourceBergen, as well as four doctors and researchers who allegedly contributed to the belief that opioids were not addictive.
City officials reached out to Cardinal Health to discuss the potential for resolving a case before a lawsuit was filed, but the company didn’t respond, said Columbus City Council President Zach Klein, who was elected to replace Pfeiffer when he retires at the end of the year.
“We had no success in doing that,” he said.
Klein said he and Pfeiffer met with Cardinal CEO George Barrett this fall to discuss ways to avoid a lawsuit, and “they were going to take it under advisement.”
He said he followed up with Cardinal’s lawyers several times since, but the city has not “received any action that indicates affirmative steps to have further conversations on this matter.”
Pfeiffer said negotiating with Cardinal “could have been considered unrealistic” given the company is dealing with several other similar lawsuits, but “we believe we approached it the right way.”
In a statement, Cardinal Health said it was “disappointed that the city chose to file this copycat lawsuit.”
“While we do not believe litigation is the solution to this problem, we will defend ourselves vigorously against this baseless lawsuit. The people of Cardinal Health care deeply about opioid abuse and addiction,” the company wrote in its statement. “We believe there is an urgent need to work towards real and meaningful solutions, right now! We are actively engaged in solving this complex public health crisis and saving lives.”
A City Hall source said Cardinal’s only suggestion was to provide Narcan, which is used to counteract overdoses, to agencies in the region. Cardinal already has pledged to spend $10 million through the first half of 2018 on opioid-abuse prevention, including drug education and free doses of Narcan.
“Cardinal said, ‘We have a $10 million commitment for education programs.’ OK, fine. Narcan? We’ve got cops out there giving kids Narcan and keeping them alive. The key is how do you deal with addiction? How do you give treatment?” Pfeiffer said. “That’s going to be a big number.”
Shortly after Klein and Pfeiffer met with Barrett, the city council approved hiring Carpenter, Lipps & Leland to advise the city on legal claims associated with the opiate crisis. The company is paid based on contingency fees, with payouts ranging from 15 to 30 percent depending on whether a lawsuit goes to trial.
The firm filed the lawsuit Friday on the city’s behalf. The lawsuit alleges that the manufacturers and distributors caused the crisis when they failed to report suspicious shipments of opiates and that those companies continue to profit from the sale of opioids while the city is left to deal with the fallout.
An industry association representing manufacturers could not be reached for comment Friday.
John Parker, a spokesman for the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, said distributors “understand the tragic impact the opioid epidemic across the country ... but we aren’t willing to be scapegoats.”
“Distributors are logistics companies that arrange for the safe and secure storage, transport, and delivery of medicines from manufacturers to pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and others based on prescriptions from licensed physicians,” Parker said in an emailed statement. “We don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines, or dispense them to consumers.”