Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Massachusetts Becomes First State To Name Purdue Executives Personally In Suit Against Opioid Maker
The Associated Press: Massachusetts Sues Opioid Maker, Executives Over Drug Crisis
Massachusetts sued the maker of prescription opioid painkiller OxyContin and its executives on Tuesday, accusing the company of spinning a “web of illegal deceit” to fuel the deadly drug abuse crisis while boosting profits. Purdue Pharma is already defending lawsuits from several states and local governments, but Massachusetts is the first state to personally name the company’s executives in a complaint, Attorney General Maura Healey said. It names 16 current and former executives and board members, including CEO Craig Landau and members of the Sackler family, which owns Purdue. (Richer, 6/12)
Boston Globe: AG Sues Opioid Maker Purdue Pharma
“We found that Purdue misled doctors, patients, and the public about the real risks of their dangerous opioids, including OxyContin,” [Attorney General Maura] Healey said at a news conference, standing next to officials including Governor Charlie Baker as well as families who have lost loved ones to overdoses. “Their strategy was simple: The more drugs they sold, the more money they made — and the more people died." (Miller, 6/12)
WBUR: Mass. Sues Purdue Pharma Over 670 Residents Who Fatally Overdosed On Opioids
The 80-page complaint filed Tuesday in state court says the pharmaceutical company violated the state’s consumer protection law. Sixteen current and former Purdue directors and executives are also named in the lawsuit. Healey says Purdue and its leaders misled doctors and patients when they called OxyContin “the gold standard” in pain relief, and that they dismissed warnings about patients getting addicted to the drug. Healey said Purdue targeted veterans, seniors and other vulnerable populations, and that the company’s actions fueled the opioid epidemic. (Bebinger, 6/12)
The Hill: Massachusetts Sues Executives From Opioid Maker Purdue Pharma
Healey’s allegations are not new. Multiple states have filed suits against Purdue and other opioid distributors. However, none have personally named a company’s executives. Many of the suits claim companies aggressively marketed opioids while downplaying the risk of addiction and shipped suspiciously large quantities of painkillers without alerting authorities. (Weixel, 6/12)
Meanwhile, KHN takes a look at how Purdue Pharma pushed OxyContin despite risks of addiction and fatalities —
Kaiser Health News: How America Got Hooked On A Deadly Drug
Purdue Pharma left almost nothing to chance in its whirlwind marketing of its new painkiller OxyContin. From 1996 to 2002, Purdue pursued nearly every avenue in the drug supply and prescription sales chain — a strategy now cast as reckless and illegal in more than 1,500 federal civil lawsuits from communities in Florida to Wisconsin to California that allege the drug has fueled a national epidemic of addiction. (Schulte, 6/13)
