The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
State sues Stamford’s Purdue Pharma Inc.
The state is suing Stamfordbased Purdue Pharma Inc., including current and former members of its management team and the founding Sackler family, charging that its aggressive marketing campaign misled doctors and downplayed the risks of addiction to the company’s potent opioids.
The lawsuit, filed in state court, signals the state’s disappointment with the speed and focus of settlement talks with the former drug giant, which has been shedding employees including its entire sales force. The new lawsuit joins more than 1,000 other legal actions around the nation, including 35 other states, leveled at Purdue Pharma amid record levels of overdose deaths.
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen charged Thursday that the drug giant “peddled a series of falsehoods” to steer patients to opioids, netting huge profits while the opioid crisis swept the nation. The suit was filed in Hartford Superior Court, charging violations of the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.
“For a number of months, Connecticut and our multistate partners have been engaged in intensive negotiations with opioid manufacturers and distributors in the hope of resolving potential legal claims in a way that would avoid protracted litigation and would bring opioid treatment resources to those who are desperately in need,” said Jepsen, who has a leadership role in a group of state attorneys general dealing with the issue. “I expect those negotiations to continue, and I remain hopeful they will bring a resolution that helps to address this ongoing crisis.”
Jepsen said he believes the company, which has about 250 employees at its Tresser Boulevard location in downtown Stamford, has been disingenuous at best.
“Purdue Pharma, however, has not demonstrated to me that it is serious about addressing the states' very real allegations of misconduct and coming to a meaningful settlement,” he said. “It is my hope that, in filing this lawsuit at this time, Connecticut can assist in the collective effort to hold this company and responsible individuals accountable.”
Jesen said the state will claim that Purdue misled doctors on the risks of the drugs while in the pursuit of profits, particularly through its OxyContin, Hysingla and Butrans opioids. Tactics included sales representatives making deceptive pitches to doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and clinics, according to the state, which also claims that doctors who prescribed the drugs in large amounts were treated to meals, gifts and cash, while high-volume sales people reaped bonuses.
Robert Josephson, a Purdue spokesman, said the company wants to “continue to work collaboratively” with Jepsen, but challenges and denies the state’s accusations.
“We share the state’s concern about the opioid crisis,” Josephson said in a statement Thursday. “While Purdue Pharma’s opioid medicines account for less than 2 percent of total prescriptions, we will continue to work collaboratively with the state toward bringing meaningful solutions to address this public health challenge.”
Josephson said Purdue acted properly in speaking with physicians, using information that is still approved by the federal Food & Drug Administration.
“We believe it is inappropriate for the state to substitute its judgment for the judgment of the regulatory, scientific and medical experts at FDA,” he said. “We look forward to the opportunity to present our substantial defenses.”
The Connecticut court challenge says Purdue Pharma misrepresented the addictive nature of prescription opioids, with claims not supported by evidence. The lawsuit alleges that Purdue even suggested that patients who appeared addicted actually needed higher doses of the drugs.
The cities of Bridgeport, Danbury, New Haven and Norwalk have filed their own lawsuits against the company, which in total has about 550 workers. Purdue Pharma has laid off hundreds of employees this year, including the termination of its entire sales force.
Defendants include members of the Sackler family, known for philanthropic efforts including the wing of the Metropolitan Museum that houses the Temple of Dendur. Richard Sackler, Jonathan Sackler, Mortimer D.A. Sackler, Kathe Sackler, Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, Beverly Sackler, David Sackler, Theresa Sackler, Cecil Pickett, Paulo Costa, Ralph Snyderman, Frank Peter Boer and Judy Lewent are named, along with past CEOs John Stewart and Mark Timney.
In 2017, 1038 people died of drug overdoses in Connecticut, most from opioids. From 2013 to 2016, the state’s overdose deaths quadrupled.