Kentucky joins states suing Endo

State’s attorney general describes company’s actions as ‘unconscionable’

Another state is taking legal action against Endo Pharmaceuticals over its sales of the opioid Opana ER.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear last week filed suit against Endo, alleging the Malvern area company violated state law and directly contributed to the overdose deaths of state residents. “Today we are taking action to hold Endo responsible for unlawfully building a market for the chronic use of opioids in the name of increasing corporate profits, knowing all along the dangers of Opana ER that led to devastating effects on the Commonwealth,” Beshear said in a statement announcing the lawsuits. “My office refuses to sit back and watch families be torn apart while opioid manufacturers like Endo line their pockets at the expense of our communities and our future.”

According to Beshear, 191 Kentuckians died in 2016 from a drug overdose caused by a powerful prescription opioid three times stronger than morphine. That drug, he said, is Opana ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride extended release), manufactured by Endo. The East Whiteland company especially targeted Kentucky veterans in its promotion

SUBMITTED PHOTO Endo Pharmaceuticals’ East Whiteland headquarters