Ohio sues drugmakers over opioid crisis
Attorney general accuses firms of pushing risky painkillers
COLUMBUS — In a case reminiscent of the battle against tobacco, the state of Ohio on Wednesday sued five major drug manufacturers, blaming their marketing practices for fueling a painkiller addiction crisis that claims thousands of lives a year.
Attorney General Mike DeWine filed the suit against the makers of such drugs as Oxy-Contin, Percocet, Dilaudid and Percodan in Ross County Common Pleas Court.
“Pharmaceutical companies spent $168 million to sales reps peddling prescription opioids to win over doctors with their smooth pitches and glossy brochures that downplayed the risk and highlighted the benefits,” Mr. DeWine said.
The suit seeks an unspecified amount of damages and an injunction to halt the practices of Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Phamaceutical Industries, Johnson & Johnson, Allergan and a variety of their subsidiaries.
The lawsuit does not name individual doctors nor does it go after drug distributors. It contends the companies intentionally and irresponsibly marketed their brand-name and generic opiate products for treatment of chronic pain, rather than just short-term pain or endof-life care.
It claims they’ve spent millions to downplay the risks of addiction and undermine the warnings of the U.S. surgeon general, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration, while also ignoring their own small-print warnings on their packaging.
Although a number of other states have gone after manufacturers and distributors to some degree, Mr. DeWine is just the second state attorney general, following Mississippi’s, to file such a suit.
Like the successful suits more than a decade ago against tobacco companies, this one seeks an injunction against the manufacturers to halt their sales practices and seeks unspecified damages to reimburse the state for its costs in fighting the addiction epidemic. It also urges payment to consumers who paid for drugs that are considered unnecessary for chronic pain.
Mr. DeWine picked Appalachian Ross County for the suit because southern Ohio was seen as Ohio’s ground zero for an epidemic of painkiller and heroin addiction that has since spread across the state. As so-called “pill mills” were shut down, many addicts turned to heroin for a cheaper and easier-to-obtain fix.
“We firmly believe the allegations in this lawsuit are both legally and factually unfounded,” said Jessica Castles Smith, spokeswoman for the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.
“Janssen 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,” she said.
In a statement, Purdue said, “We share the attorney general’s concerns about the opioid crisis, and we are committed to working collaboratively to find solutions.
“Oxy-Contin accounts for less than 2 percent of the opioid analgesic prescription market nationally, but we are an industry leader in the development of abuse-deterrent technology, advocating for the use of prescription drug monitoring programs and supporting access to Naloxone — all important components for combating the opioid crisis,” it said.
When asked why he filed the suit now, Mr. DeWine said the time was right.
Block News Alliance consists of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Blade of Toledo, Ohio. Jim Provance is a reporter for The Blade.