Opioids Media Report 5/17/17

Traditional Media Coverage

1. NY County Takes Opioid Makers to Court (Reuters)

   May 16, 2017 | MedPage Today

   Citing fraudulent marketing regarding opioids, Orange County in New York has filed a lawsuit against multiple pharmaceutical companies, Reuters reported. The lawsuit, which named Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson, units of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Endo International Plc, among others, as well as four physicians, argues the companies' marketing downplayed and misrepresented the dangers of long-term opioid use to patients and prescribers, leading to the nationwide opioid epidemic.
2. New York county sues 4 drugmakers for painkiller marketing practices

   May 16, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review

   By Mackenzie Bean
   
   
   A New York state county on May 11 filed a lawsuit against four major drugmakers for their role in the opioid epidemic, reports Reuters. Here are five things to know.

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Traditional Media Coverage

1. NY County Takes Opioid Makers to Court (Reuters)

   May 16, 2017 | MedPage Today

   Citing fraudulent marketing regarding opioids, Orange County in New York has filed a lawsuit against multiple pharmaceutical companies, Reuters reported.

   The lawsuit, which named Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson, units of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Endo International Plc, among others, as well as four physicians, argues the companies' marketing downplayed and misrepresented the dangers of long-term opioid use to patients and prescribers, leading to the nationwide opioid epidemic. The New York county, which is about 45 minutes northwest of Manhattan, reported nearly 1,000 opioid-related ED visits in 2014 alone, along with nearly 50 deaths due to overdose in 2015.

   Similar lawsuits have been filed in counties in California, Illinois, and Mississippi.
   

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2. New York county sues 4 drugmakers for painkiller marketing practices

   May 16, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review

   By Mackenzie Bean

   A New York state county on May 11 filed a lawsuit against four major drugmakers for their role in the opioid epidemic, reports Reuters.

   Here are five things to know.

   1. Orange County alleges the drugmakers used deceptive marketing practices to downplay the risk of prescription painkillers to physicians, pharmacists and patients.

   2. Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, along with units of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Endo International, are named as defendants in the lawsuit, according to the report.

   3. The lawsuit claims the fraudulent marketing practices drove up addiction rates in Orange County, increasing healthcare, criminal justice and other costs associated with addiction.

   4. The 379,000-person county reported 943 emergency department admissions related to opioids in 2014. The following year, the county saw 44 opioid overdose deaths, according to the report.

   5. Endo and Teva declined Reuters' request for comment. Johnson & Johnson called the allegations "unfounded," adding that its medications carry warnings mandated by the Food and Drug Administration, according to the report. Purdue told Reuters it shares health officials' concern over the opioid epidemic and said it's "committed to working collaboratively to find solutions."

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