Ponca Tribe sues opioid manufacturers, distributors

The Ponca Tribe filed a federal lawsuit against 26 drug manufacturers and distributors Tuesday, accusing them of contributing to the tribe’s opioid epidemic by fraudulently misrepresenting the risks and benefits of the addictive painkillers.

The lawsuit is similar to a number of other lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors that have been sweeping the nation.

Opioid manufacturers and distributors “flooded the market with false declarations designed to convince doctors, patients and government entities that prescription opioids posed a low risk of addiction,” The Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma alleged in its Oklahoma City federal court lawsuit. “Those claims were false.”

The result has been an opioid epidemic, with 1 in 10 Native Americans over the age of 12 using prescription pain medicine for nonprescriptive purposes, the tribe said, citing 2012 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Virtually every tribal member has been adversely impacted by the opioid epidemic,” the tribe said. “This epidemic has been growing for years and the effects of this crisis have only been exacerbated by defendants’ efforts to conceal and minimize the risks of opioid addiction. The Ponca Tribe has seen its health care services overwhelmed and its costs to provide a wide range of social services, from child welfare to behavioral health, skyrocket.”

The Ponca Tribe is seeking a jury trial and an unspecified amount of financial damages. The tribe also wants a judge to issue an injunction prohibiting drug manufacturers and distributors from engaging in “unfair or deceptive practices” and to order them to form an “abatement fund” to combatthe “opioid nuisance.”

Drug manufacturers issued statements Tuesday acknowledging that opioid abuse is a serious health issue, but denying wrongdoing.

“Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible,” said Jessica Castles Smith, spokesperson for Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. “The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated. In fact, our medications have some of the lowest rates of abuse among this class of medications.”

John Puskar, director of public affairs for Purdue Pharma LP, said his company vigorously denies the allegations made against it and looks forward to presenting its defense.

“As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDAapproved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge,” Puskar said.

To help combat addiction, Puskar said his company has “developed three of the first four FDAapproved opioid medications with abuse-deterrent properties.”

Puskar said his company also reduced its sales by more than 50 percent a few weeks ago and has informed prescribers that field sales representatives no longer will be visiting offices to engage in discussions about opioid products.

“We have restructured and significantly reduced our commercial operation and will no longer be promoting opioids to prescribers,” he said.

We have restructured and significantly reduced our commercial operation and will no longer be promoting opioids to prescribers,”

John Puskar, director of public affairs for Purdue Pharma LP