PHARMA ‘MUST PAY’ FOR PAIN
New York is suing maker of OxyContin
The state filed suit Tuesday against the maligned maker of OxyContin, charging that it hid the dangers of the pills while fueling New York's opioid epidemic.
The suit brought by Attorney General Barbara Underwood accuses Purdue Pharma of a decades-long pattern of deception in which it understated the risks of the highly-addictive narcotics and oversold the benefits.
“Purdue and its owners obtained billions of dollars in profits, at the cost of lost lives and tens of billions of dollars in devastation inflicted on communities that are now awash in opioids and their ill effects,” the lawsuit says.
“Purdue now must pay penalties and damages to the State of New York for its unlawful conduct, disgorge its ill-gotten gains, and abate the resulting harm inflicted throughout New York.”
A total of 3,086 New York residents died from overdoses involving opioids in 2016. Some 2,399 involved opioid painkillers, including those sold by Purdue, according to the suit filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court.
In rolling out the suit, Underwood and Gov. Cuomo said Purdue misled regulators and duped patients and prescribers as part of its scheme to flood the nation with OxyContin pills despite a lack of scientific support for the safe and effective use of the painkillers.
"Our investigation found a pattern of deception and reckless disregard for New Yorkers' health and wellbeing — as Purdue lined its own pockets by deliberately exploiting our communities and fueling an opioid epidemic that's destroyed families across the state," Underwood said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes amid a national wave of legal action against the makers of prescription painkillers.
The city filed suit against several prescription drug companies, including Purdue, in January.
“The opioid epidemic was manufactured by unscrupulous distributors who developed a $400 billion industry pumping human misery into our communities,” Cuomo said in a statement.
“In this year's State of the State, I pledged that we will hold these companies responsible for their reprehensible actions. This lawsuit sends a clear message all these who mislead the public to increase their profit margins that we will hold you accountable for your actions."