Preview Newsletter
Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report 9/28/17
-
WATCH: Approaching deadline, Trump’s opioid commission weighs successes and setbacks
Sep 27, 2017 | PBS Newshour
By Laura Santhanam
As it approached the deadline for its final report, President Donald Trump’s opioid commission heard from researchers Wednesday who said effective treatment exists but is often underused or not available as an option. -
Drug Makers Support 7-Day Limit on Rx Opioids
Sep 27, 2017 | Pain News Network
By Pat Anson
A leading organization of pharmaceutical companies announced today its support for a 7-day limit on opioid prescriptions for acute pain. -
Opioid commission unveils new partnerships, drug supply limits to stop epidemic
Sep 27, 2017 | CBS News
By Emily Tellett
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie held the third formal meeting of President Trump's ongoing Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis, where officials in the pharmaceutical industry and government detailed new partnerships and efforts in the hopes of limiting the use of opioid prescriptions for combatting pain and recommending new treatments for pain management without the use of addictive substances. -
Trump commission unveils new measures to fight opioid addiction
Sep 28, 2017 | UPI
By Sara Shayanian
President Donald Trump's commission on drug addiction met Wednesday and unveiled new measures to stop the opioid epidemic. -
PhRMA CEO announces support for limiting opioid prescriptions
Sep 27, 2017 | STAT NEws
By Andrew Joseph
The pharmaceutical industry now supports limiting prescriptions of opioid painkillers to a seven-day supply for acute pain management, PhRMA CEO Stephen J. Ubl announced Wednesday at a meeting of the White House’s opioid abuse commission. -
Drugmaker group backs limiting opioid supplies
Sep 27, 2017 | The Hill
By Rachel Rouebein
A powerful drug industry trade group announced its support for limiting a patient’s supply of opioids to seven days for first time acute pain treatment, as a way to curb the opioid epidemic plaguing the country. -
PhRMA announces support for seven-day script limit on opioid medicines
Sep 28, 2017 | ABC 12 (NC)
By Elizabeth Steinberg
During a briefing at the White House on Wednesday, September 28, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) president and CEO Stephen Ubl announced the group's support for a seven-day script limit on opioid medicines for acute pain. -
Industry Group Backs Seven Day Limit On Opiod Prescriptions
Sep 28, 2017 | The News Service of Florida
As Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders start to move forward with plans to address the state’s opioid epidemic, a major pharmaceutical-industry group said Wednesday it would support a seven-day limit on initial prescriptions of pain medications. -
Big Pharma Is Getting Hit With a Huge Wave of Opioid Suits
Sep 28, 2017 | Fortune
By Erika Fry
It wasn’t a coincidence that the corporate suits showed up for the Mingo County Commission meeting last May. On the agenda was a vote about whether the 26,000-person county, deep in West Virginia coal country, should join a lawsuit against the nation’s three major drug distributors for their role in the region’s opioid epidemic. (Collectively, the three companies had distributed 423 million pills in West Virginia over a five-year period.) One of those distributors, $121 billion Cardinal Health (CAH, +0.47%), had three representatives in the audience—one of whom had travelled all the way from Washington DC—“to educate the County Commission” about aspects of opioid litigation in surrounding counties. -
County weighs suit against drug companies
Sep 27, 2017 | The News Eagle (PA)
By Peter Becker
The County of Pike is taking aim at the pharmaceutical companies across the nation that are accused of deceiving the public for many years, that prescription opiates are not addictive. The county commissioners have entered an agreement with two law firms to explore the feasibility of bringing court action. -
'We have to act': Pike may sue Big Pharma
Sep 28, 2017 | The Pike County Courier
By Staff
Pike County is ready to take on Big Pharma over the opioid epidemic. -
Exclusive: New York counties suing pharmaceutical companies over opioid epidemic
Sep 27, 2017 | ABC 7 Eyewitness News
By Kristin Thorne
One of the largest coordinated lawsuits in the country against pharmaceutical companies in relation to the opioid crisis began Wednesday on Long Island. -
County files lawsuit against drug companies
Sep 27, 2017 | Daily Journal
By Jeff Bonty
Kankakee County is taking its battle with opioids to the national level. -
Trump still hasn’t declared opioid abuse a national emergency — despite urging from White House commission
Sep 27, 2017 | NY Daily News
By Larry McShane
A White House commission on opioid abuse held its third public meeting Wednesday, a stark reminder that President Trump had yet to pronounce the crisis a national emergency. -
State files suit against opioid manufacturers
Sep 27, 2017 | KADN News 15
By Staff
The Louisiana Department of Health has filed a law suit filed against several leading opioid manufacturers for what it claims is their role in escalating the opioid crisis in Louisiana. -
La. Dept. of Health files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers; blames them for crisis
Sep 28, 2017 | WAFB News 9
By Rachael Thomas
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) has announced they are filing a lawsuit against several leading opioid manufacturers for their alleged role is escalating the opioid crisis. -
Louisiana Department of Health files suit against opioid manufacturers
Sep 28, 2017 | The Advocate (LA)
By Mark Ballard
Louisiana joined a growing list of state and local governments Wednesday by taking legal action claiming drug manufacturers purposely escalated an opioid crisis that has led to thousands of overdose deaths in the state. -
Louisiana sues opioid manufacturers alleging fraudulent marketing
Sep 27, 2017 | The Times Picayune
By Julia O'Donoghue
Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration is suing opioid drug manufacturers for false marketing that it says caused the skyrocketing opioid addiction and overdose rates in Louisiana. Edwards is seeking damages for the amounts the state paid for excessive opioid prescriptions and treatment costs as a result of those prescriptions, according a press release sent from the governor's office Wednesday (Sept. 27). -
DHH files suit against opiod manufactures
Sep 27, 2017 | KATC 3 News
By Staff
The Louisiana Department of Health has filed suit against several leading opioid manufacturers for their role in escalating the opioid crisis in Louisiana, the Governor's Office announced. -
KIRO 7 News at 5AM
Sep 28, 2017 | KIRO (CBS)
By Seattle, WA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685808?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54 -
Fox 8 Morning Edition at 8am
Sep 28, 2017 | WVUE (FOX)
By New Orleans, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685814?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54 -
FOX 29 Morning News
Sep 28, 2017 | KVHP (FOX)
By Lake Charles, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685818?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54 -
Good Morning New Orleans
Sep 28, 2017 | WGNO (ABC)
By New Orleans, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685846?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54 -
Good Morning Acadiana
Sep 28, 2017 | KATC (ABC)
By Layfayette, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685849?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54 -
News 12 at 6
Sep 28, 2017 | KXIIDT3 (FOX)
By Sherman, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685856?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54 -
Local 33 News Today
Sep 28, 2017 | WVLA (NBC)
By Baton Rouge, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685874?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54
Opioid Commission Meeting
Other Coverage
Louisiana Department of Health
Broadcast Media Coverage
-
WATCH: Approaching deadline, Trump’s opioid commission weighs successes and setbacks
Sep 27, 2017 | PBS Newshour
By Laura Santhanam
As it approached the deadline for its final report, President Donald Trump’s opioid commission heard from researchers Wednesday who said effective treatment exists but is often underused or not available as an option.
The comments came during the third meeting of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, chaired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, created by executive order in March as a way to map out a strategy for emerging from the public health crisis.
The meeting came a day after the Drug Enforcement Administration’s acting director, Chuck Rosenberg, emailed staff to say he plans to resign by Sunday, the same day the commission’s report was originally due for release. But Christie announced Wednesday to extend the commission’s deadline by one month, submitting the report on Nov. 1.
The commission’s interim report, asked the Trump administration to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency, among other recommendations. Trump said he intended to declare a national emergency, but has yet to do so.
Advocates and health officials are increasingly worried about the nation’s need for clear direction as the opioid crisis continues.
In 2016, as many as 64,000 people died due to drug overdose, according to the latest data analysis from the New York Times. Opioid abuse, including of heroin and fentanyl, largely propel this trend.
Many Americans struggling with opioid use were introduced to addiction through a doctor’s prescription and have now “been trapped into a rewiring of their brains,” said Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.
And while innovation in treatment is something that’s needed to stem this problem, Collins said insurers must cover these therapies so they’re affordable.
A host of public health experts and a growing number of states say the pharmaceutical industry played a big role in perpetuating the opioid crisis, including marketing and selling highly addictive prescription opioids to the general public for decades. In March, Sen. Claire McCaskill, a top-ranking Democrat from Missouri, launched an investigation into how pharmaceutical companies profited off of opioids and released initial findings earlier this month. Several states have also sued drug makers for their role in the crisis.
Commissioner and Harvard Medical School professor Bertha Madras also raised concerns about opioids being insufficiently tested and asked how companies that urge fast-tracked alternative treatments to opioids will avoid introducing similarly devastating therapies.
During the meeting, Stephen Ubl, president of PhRMA, the nation’s leading lobbying organization for pharmaceutical companies, praised the commission and said researchers at companies his lobbying group represents “wake up every day with the sole goal of improving the human condition.”
He also said physicians should receive annual training about how and when to safely prescribe opioids.
Biomedical researcher and physician George Savage said it’s great that business and government are working to rein in use of opioids, but he argued that some people really need these medications, and regulators must strike the right balance.
He said his San Francisco-based company, Proteus Digital Health, is developing a “digital opioid” to make sure the right dose of the right medicine reaches the right patient for the proper duration. The therapy is ingestible and especially designed for cancer patients or people receiving medication-assisted treatment for addiction.
Patrick Kennedy, a commissioner and former U.S. representative from Rhode Island, said Americans must unite around the issue of addiction, treatment and recovery.
“Advocacy is anemic. There’s no one out there shaking the trees” as the United States saw during the HIV crisis, Kennedy said.
-
Drug Makers Support 7-Day Limit on Rx Opioids
Sep 27, 2017 | Pain News Network
By Pat Anson
A leading organization of pharmaceutical companies announced today its support for a 7-day limit on opioid prescriptions for acute pain.
The announcement -- made during a meeting of President Trump’s opioid commission – marks a significant shift for the industry and is likely to speed up efforts to have limits imposed nationwide on opioid medication for short-term pain.
“PhRMA is announcing for the first time our support to limit the supply of opioids to 7 days for acute pain management. Too often, individuals receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments for short-term pain,” said Stephen Ubl, President and CEO of PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
“Overprescribing and dispensing can lead to patients taking opioids longer than necessary and excess pills falling into the wrong hands.”
PhRMA is a trade organization that represents over 3 dozen pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Allergan, Bristol-Myer Squibb, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Teva, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, and Purdue Pharma.
“Our announcement is candidly an unprecedented step for the industry. We’ve always supported physician autonomy and the preservation of the physician-patient relationship, but as you know, given the scope of this (opioid) crisis we believe this is the right thing to do,” Ubl said.
“I want to thank you and the industry for stepping forward and coming to the table with the beginnings on limits on initial prescriptions for acute pain,” said commission chairman Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.
“This is a prevention measure… to limit the number of drugs that are out there for improper diversion and to make sure that we don’t inadvertently turn people into addicts by giving 30, 60, 90 pills the first time. And so the fact that the pharmaceutical industry is willing to step up and acknowledge that there is something that needs to be done is an important first step.”
New Jersey, Ohio, New York and several other states have already implemented or are considering laws to limit the number of days opioids can be prescribed and dispensed for acute, short-term pain. This week Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced that he would support legislation for a 3-day limit on opioids in his state. Strict conditions would have to be met to get a 7-day supply.
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this year would require doctors nationwide to limit the initial supply of opioids for acute pain to seven days, a prescription that could not be renewed. The bill by Sen. John McCain and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee in April, but has gone no further.
CVS Health announced last week that it would limit opioid medication for acute pain to 7 days in all of its pharmacies nationwide, starting February 1.
CVS will also limit opioid doses for both acute and chronic pain to 90mg morphine equivalent units, and patients would be required to try immediate release formulations before using extended release opioids.
‘Moonshot’ Commitment Needed for New Treatments
Today’s meeting of President Trump’s opioid commission focused largely on expanding access to addiction treatment and developing new ways of treating chronic pain without the use of opioid medication. During the two-hour meeting, there was hardly any mention of illegal opioids or the scourge of heroin and illicit fentanyl now sweeping the country.
"Our nation needs a moonshot commitment to the development of non-opioid pain treatments. We need new therapies and we need them fast," said Jim Campbell, MD, President of Centrexion Therapeutics. "The abuse of opioids costs lives, but the other equally important issue is the problem of untreated pain. Untreated pain leads to lost work, depression, lack of sleep, social withdrawal and may even lead to suicide."
Commission member Patrick Kennedy, a former congressman in recovery from addiction, said the problems of pain, addiction, depression and suicide are all intertwined, and need better advocacy.
“Clearly, depression is rampant. The opioid crisis was driven by a depression crisis. And while we’re talking about the opioid crisis and overdose deaths, suicide is getting right up there, to the height of the AIDS epidemic itself,” said Kennedy. “Because these illnesses are so stigmatized, the advocacy is really anemic. There’s no one out there shaking the trees as if this were HIV and AIDS, like we saw in those crises.”
-
Opioid commission unveils new partnerships, drug supply limits to stop epidemic
Sep 27, 2017 | CBS News
By Emily Tellett
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie held the third formal meeting of President Trump's ongoing Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis, where officials in the pharmaceutical industry and government detailed new partnerships and efforts in the hopes of limiting the use of opioid prescriptions for combatting pain and recommending new treatments for pain management without the use of addictive substances.
National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins advised the commission that the agency is looking to build partnerships with researchers across academia, government, prescribers and patients to "cut in half the time needed to make available prescriptions that are non-addictive."
He said areas like developing "potent but non-addictive drugs" for pain relief and offering new avenues for treatment would become a top priority for the partnership.
Collins noted that similar efforts have been taken on by NIH with regard to both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease and said the body "can do the same with opioids."
PhRMA CEO Stephen J. Ubl also announced another significant step in the effort to curb the abuse of opioid prescriptions, telling the commission that the company will support limiting the supply of opioids to 7 days, as opposed to the traditional 30-day supply for short-term pain management and minor treatments.
"Over-prescribing can lead to excess pills falling into the wrong hands," said Ubl. He added, "given scope of this crisis, we believe it's the right thing to do."
Ubl called it a "candidly an unprecedented step for the industry" and commended the efforts of the Trump administration for being comitted to making a maximum effort to the public health emergency.
Christie applauded the effort by PhRMA, calling the crisis a "prevention measure as much as anything else to make sure we don't turn people into addicts inadvertently."
He added, "The fact the pharmaceutical industry is admitting this, is an important first step to limit the amount of these drugs that are out there that can be used inappropriately."
U.S. World Meds Senior Director also advised the commission that they are awaiting final approval and recommendations from the National Institute of Drug Abuse on their development of an new drug called Lofexidine. If approved by FDA, it would be the first and only non-narcotic product used for the treatment of opioid withdrawal.
So far, the effort to end the epidemic has been off to a rocky start after the commission failed to make a deadline to file an interim report on the crisis for the second time back in July.
Christie had also missed a previous meeting with Mr. Trump on the epidemic, which was held in Christie's home state while the governor was away on a family vacation in Italy this past summer.
The governor has since traveled to a veterans hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, along with Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, which has been able to lower the rate of opioids prescribed to veterans by more than double digit amounts by recommending alternative therapy and treatment programs.
Christie said by changing the culture inside hospitals, it shows that "opioids are not the first resort for pain management" and helps lower the prescription rate for medications.
The commission, however, has a new deadline of November 1st for their final report on the epidemic and recommendations for which the industry can innovate pain management and addiction prevention measures. Conway said on Wednesday that Mr. Trump "very much anticipates" the commission's final report and is expecting many agencies across his cabinet to "pitch in."
First Lady Melania Trump, who attended the previous meeting in New Jersey, is expected to hold a listening session on Thursday with experts and people affected by the opioid crisis.
-
Trump commission unveils new measures to fight opioid addiction
Sep 28, 2017 | UPI
By Sara Shayanian
President Donald Trump's commission on drug addiction met Wednesday and unveiled new measures to stop the opioid epidemic.
The panel met at the White House and announced two main measures -- strategic partnerships and new drug supply limits.
The gathering included presentations from various invited government, business organizations, and nonprofit organizations regarding pain management and prevention measures.
Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey (the chairman of the commission), the Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins, and the President and CEO of PhRMA Stephen J. Ubl attended the meeting.
Ubli said PhRMA would support imposing new limits of 7-day opioid supplies -- instead of the traditional 30-day supply for short-term pain management.
"Over-prescribing can lead to excess pills falling into the wrong hands," Ubl said, adding that "given scope of this crisis, we believe it's the right thing to do."
The opioid epidemic has become a major public health-crisis across the United States as more and more Americans die each year from drug-related overdoses.
Collins advised the panel that the agency is looking to build partnerships with industry researchers to reduce the time "needed to make available prescriptions that are non-addictive."
Some cities like Miami are dealing with the issue directly.
The Miami Herald reported Wednesday that city commissioners may sue the industry over the epidemic.
"It's become a country-wide epidemic and I think that the drug manufacturers and the distributors are responsible," a Miami city commissioner told the Herald. "They know the highly addictive needs for the opioids and the destructive effect they have on society and yet they push and promulgate these drugs that are destroying families and cities."
The president's commission will issue its final report on the epidemic by Nov. 1.
-
PhRMA CEO announces support for limiting opioid prescriptions
Sep 27, 2017 | STAT NEws
By Andrew Joseph
The pharmaceutical industry now supports limiting prescriptions of opioid painkillers to a seven-day supply for acute pain management, PhRMA CEO Stephen J. Ubl announced Wednesday at a meeting of the White House’s opioid abuse commission.
“Too often, individuals receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments for short term pain,” Ubl said. “Overprescribing and dispensing can lead to patients taking longer than necessary and excess pills falling into the wrong hands.”
The trade group PhRMA’s announcement follows steps by some pharmacy benefit managers to restrict the supply of opioids to first-time users, as well as new prescribing rules set by states — all part of the burgeoning effort to fight the opioid epidemic.
In guidelines released last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended limiting the strength and duration of initial opioid prescriptions, given that patients who take opioids for longer periods of time are more vulnerable to becoming addicted. Additionally, many people form addictions after taking leftover pills initially prescribed to someone else.
“This is a prevention measure as much as it is anything else, to limit the number of drugs that are out there for improper diversion and to make sure that we don’t turn people inadvertently into addicts by giving 30, 60, 90 pills their first time,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the chair of the commission, said as he credited Ubl for PhRMA’s new position.
Ubl acknowledged that PhRMA’s recommendation could be seen as drug companies interfering with patient and clinician choices, alluding to the broader debate that efforts to limit pain pills are hurting patients who can no longer get the treatment they and their doctors feel they need. But he said in this case, it was a necessary step.
“We’ve always supported physician autonomy and the preservation of the physician-patient relationship, Ubl said, “but as you know, given the scope of this crisis, we believe it’s the right thing to do.”
-
Drugmaker group backs limiting opioid supplies
Sep 27, 2017 | The Hill
By Rachel Rouebein
A powerful drug industry trade group announced its support for limiting a patient’s supply of opioids to seven days for first time acute pain treatment, as a way to curb the opioid epidemic plaguing the country.
“Too often individuals receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments or short-term pain,” Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), said.
“Our announcement is candidly an unprecedented step for the industry,” Ubl said Wednesday at a meeting of the president’s opioid commission. “We’ve always supported physician autonomy and the preservation of the physician-patient relationship, but as you know, given the scope of this crisis, we believe it’s the right thing to do.”
Since 1999, deaths from opioid overdoses have quadrupled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some have criticized the overprescribing of opioids as, partly, a catalyst for the increase. In guidelines released last year, the CDC recommendedprescribing opioids for short durations for acute pain. Three days or less “will often be sufficient” and “more than seven days will rarely be needed.”
Last week, CVS Health announced it would limit opioid prescriptions to seven days for some acute conditions.
-
PhRMA announces support for seven-day script limit on opioid medicines
Sep 28, 2017 | ABC 12 (NC)
By Elizabeth Steinberg
During a briefing at the White House on Wednesday, September 28, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) president and CEO Stephen Ubl announced the group's support for a seven-day script limit on opioid medicines for acute pain.
Ubl issued the following statement:
“As part of our commitment to advancing a multifaceted solution to address the opioid crisis, today PhRMA is announcing it supports policies limiting the supply of opioids to seven days for acute pain treatment. We are taking this step because we believe the worsening opioid epidemic demands additional solutions, with new protections for patients. Too often, individuals receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments or short-term pain. Overprescribing and dispensing can lead to patients taking opioids longer than necessary or to excess pills falling into the wrong hands.
“Appropriate script limits, when combined with improved prescriber education and better coverage of treatment alternatives, can help ensure proper prescribing and reduce the risk of abuse. Given the scope and scale of this crisis, we believe this is the right thing to do.”
Ubl discussed the need for appropriate script limits during a hearing held on Wednesday, September 27, by the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, Chaired by Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ). The meeting featured testimony from biopharmaceutical executives who are working on innovative pain and addiction therapies.
PhRMA has been working closely with the Commission, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop a public-private partnership that will accelerate the development of non-opioid, non-addictive pain medicines and medication assisted treatments for long-term addiction recovery. The partnership would allow increased information sharing and collaboration between government and industry to speed the drug development process.
With this announcement, PhRMA representatives claim to support State and Federal policies that do the following:
-- Limit the supply for first time, acute pain opioid prescriptions to seven days
-- Include a list of circumstances under which a prescriber may deviate from any mandate (e.g. for cancer-related pain, hospice care or accessibility obstacles)
-- Affirm exemptions for medication assisted treatments for patients seeking long-term addiction recovery in addition to counseling and mental health support
-
Industry Group Backs Seven Day Limit On Opiod Prescriptions
Sep 28, 2017 | The News Service of Florida
As Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders start to move forward with plans to address the state’s opioid epidemic, a major pharmaceutical-industry group said Wednesday it would support a seven-day limit on initial prescriptions of pain medications.
Scott said Tuesday he will seek a change in state law that would place a three-day limit on opioid prescriptions, though the prescriptions could be up to seven days under some conditions.
House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s office said the proposal would apply to initial prescriptions of drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin. While not limited to Florida, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Wednesday that it would support seven-day limits on initial supplies of “acute pain” opioid prescriptions, with doctors able to deviate in certain circumstances such as when treating cancer-related pain or when providing hospice care.
“We are taking this step because we believe the worsening opioid epidemic demands additional solutions, with new protections for patients,” Stephen J. Ubl, president & CEO of the industry group, said in a prepared statement. “Too often, individuals receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments or short-term pain. Overprescribing and dispensing can lead to patients taking opioids longer than necessary or to excess pills falling into the wrong hands.”
The proposals announced Tuesday by Scott, including spending $50 million on programs such as drug treatment, are expected to be debated during the 2018 legislative session, which starts in January.
-
Big Pharma Is Getting Hit With a Huge Wave of Opioid Suits
Sep 28, 2017 | Fortune
By Erika Fry
It wasn’t a coincidence that the corporate suits showed up for the Mingo County Commission meeting last May. On the agenda was a vote about whether the 26,000-person county, deep in West Virginia coal country, should join a lawsuit against the nation’s three major drug distributors for their role in the region’s opioid epidemic. (Collectively, the three companies had distributed 423 million pills in West Virginia over a five-year period.) One of those distributors, $121 billion Cardinal Health (CAH, +0.47%), had three representatives in the audience—one of whom had travelled all the way from Washington DC—“to educate the County Commission” about aspects of opioid litigation in surrounding counties.
That a Fortune 15 corporation would send even one person to such an event says something about the stakes involved in litigation targeting companies in the opioid supply chain. Since then, the stakes have only grown; cases against distributors like Cardinal and opioid manufacturers like Purdue and Teva (TEVA, +2.09%), which are accused of negligence and aggressive sales tactics, have proliferated across the country in recent months. All levels of government, hurting from the toll the public health crisis has had on budgets, are taking action, from municipalities (Kermit, WV; Chicago, Il, Everett, WA) to counties (Mingo in WV; Nassau in NY; Orange in California) to states (Mississippi, Ohio, New Mexico). And that’s just a sampling. There’s also the multi-state investigation into various opioid manufacturers that a bipartisan coalition of 35 state attorney generals launched in June, and Congressional and Senate investigations into the matter underway.
The growing charge has led many to wonder: Will the opioid crisis hand Big Pharma its Big Tobacco moment? In 1998, cigarette-makers made a $248 billion civil settlement—the largest-ever—with 46 states to snuff out public health-related suits.
Not so fast, says Ken Feinberg, the attorney who oversaw claims administration after 9/11, the BP oil spill, the Boston Marathon bombing and most recently, the Volkswagen emissions scandal. He points out a couple factors that make it hard to assign blame when it comes to the opioid epidemic—pain meds are lawful drugs, approved and regulated by the federal government, and there are “a whole lot of intermediaries: in the distribution process. “You’re bringing litigation against companies who appear to be complying with the law.”
He says the opioid suits could also potentially go the way of the gun industry. In the early 2000s, gun makers successfully lobbied for protection from such lawsuits.
Feinberg admits “much is up in the air," but he sees an even more fundamental problem. “Even if the litigation is successful, what will you do with this money?” He says giving it to surviving victims may be problematic, given their addictions. As for paying for the nation’s crisis, well, the bill is just too big. Says Feinberg: “I don’t think there’s enough money to cover it.”
-
County weighs suit against drug companies
Sep 27, 2017 | The News Eagle (PA)
By Peter Becker
The County of Pike is taking aim at the pharmaceutical companies across the nation that are accused of deceiving the public for many years, that prescription opiates are not addictive. The county commissioners have entered an agreement with two law firms to explore the feasibility of bringing court action.
“For a number of years now I have speaking to you about this, about what is going on in our community about the opioid epidemic,” Commissioner Chairman Matthew Osterberg said, at the Sept. 20th commissioners’ meeting. He said he has been talking with the other two commissioners and others in Harrisburg, about “how we can hold the pharmaceuticals responsible for creating this mess.”
He referred to reports addressing how pharmaceuticals “make us believe that opposed in the form of Oxycodine, pain relief, is non-addictive.”
Like the class action suit that held the tobacco industry accountable for the health effects from smoking, he said the drug companies need to be held accountable as well. Osterberg said that there is a place for these drugs to control pain in serious medical cases, but not in the way they are being prescribed.
Huge impact locally
County agencies attest to the expense paid out on the local level to combat opioid abuse, he noted. “I believe that we in Pike County owe it to these residents that are suffering, that we hold the right people responsible,” he said. “Not 100 percent, but they have to realize there is some culpability on their part.”
Some years ago, a drug company was found guilty of this and paid a $600 million fine. “That’s not enough,” he said
In just Pike County, PA, he noted, Children and Youth Services, in 2016, placed 46 children outside their own home. “Twenty one of them are addicted,” he said. “In neonatal, 54 out of 1,000 births in Pike County ...are born with some form of addiction, and 50% of them are from opiates,” Osterberg stated. He added that at the Correctional Facility, 80 to as much as 100% of the inmates come in with some form of addiction. Much money is spent to try and help them, he noted.
The law firms came highly recommended to the commissioners, he said. They include Young, Richhiuti, Caldwell & Heller LLC, of Philadelphia; and Simmon, Hanly, Conroy LLC, of New York, Illinois, Missouri and California.
Other needs to follow suit
Commissioner Steve Guccini said that there is no cost borne by the county taxpayers for this feasibility study. The agreement is set up, if the county gets any money, the law firms are paid.
Citing an article he said he read, Guccini said that the national life expectancy has been going down because of opioid deaths. Life expectancy had been on the increase.
“I think this is a very good thing we are doing,” Guccini, “but you need to keep an eye on what the federal and state governments are doing.” He asked if others on higher levels are going to join in being law suits as well.
Sullivan County, NY has launched a similar feasibility study, and there are other counties in Pennsylvania on board, Osterberg stated.
“It’s just a matter of time before other counties are going to catch on to this,” Commissioner Richard Caridi stated. “Because they have the same problem.”
Guccini said it will be up to the law firms to decide if other governmental entities are joined in the lawsuit, if they come forward and ask to participate. “This is in the very early stages,” Guccini said. The agreement states that Pike County shall retain full and final control over substantive decisions in this matter and any litigation that may result.
The study would determine the feasibility of bringing action against manufacturers, distributers and sellers of prescription opiates for damages to Pike County and its residents, “arising out of aggressive marketing and distribution of opiates” to the County and its residents, the agreement states.
This is based on the County’s understanding of similar litigation pending in the United States.
Controlling pain
Osterberg said that there is a place for these drugs to control pain in serious medical cases, but not in the way they are being prescribed.
“Opioids are readily available to people,” Osterberg said. “They have it now set up that hospitals are rated by the amount of pain... they are funded back by the federal government by the level of care they give, and one of the questions they ask is, ’Did you suffer any pain?”... If people check that the wrong way, they are impacted by that. This is the government telling the hospitals... make sure they get enough pain medication...”
“Well, sometimes there’s going to be some pain, and I’m not talking about people that are suffering from cancer or severe injuries,” the chairman continued. “There’s a place for these drugs. But there’s not a place where you have a simple wisdom tooth pulled out. There needs to be another plan.”
-
'We have to act': Pike may sue Big Pharma
Sep 28, 2017 | The Pike County Courier
By Staff
Pike County is ready to take on Big Pharma over the opioid epidemic.
“How many more deaths do we have to hear about?" asked Pike County Commissioners Chair Matt Osterberg, who says pharmaceutical companies mislead the public about the risks of opioid prescription medications and the benefits of their use.
"We have to act," he said.
According to the county's agreement with two law firms — Young Ricchiuti Caldwell & Heller of Philadelphia and Simmons Hanly Conroy of New York, Illinois, Missouri and California — the firms will look into the feasibility of "bringing an action against the manufacturers, distributors and sellers of prescription opiates for damages to the county and its residents arising out of aggressive marketing and distribution of opiates in and to the county and its residents.”
Osterberg and Commissioner Steve Guccini said the legal work will be done on contingency basis, with no cost to taxpayers.
Like many places throughout the country, Pike County has a big drug problem. Osterberg said Pike County is willing to take action if the attorneys' findings justify it. He found the law firms on advice of the monthly meetings he attends in Harrisburg about the subject, he said, and that they are reputable.
He said other counties and even states may join in. A task force is forming, he said, and the county will be watching federal and state legislation.
'Aggressive and misleading'Other localities in Pennsylvania have too taken action in the past few weeks. The Dauphin County Commissioners and Bensalem Township in Bucks County also hired Young Ricchiuti Caldwell & Heller, and have already decided to bring suit against pharmaceutical companies they say have practice deception.
Many counties in neighboring New York are also bringing suit, with Simmons Hanly Conroy representing Orange, Dutchess, Suffolk, Broome, and Erie counties.
“The opiate crisis is a result of aggressive and misleading advertising and marketing that the opiate manufacturers used in order to create a larger market for their products," said Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler when bringing suit in April. "Indeed, the conduct of the opiate manufacturers rivals that of the tobacco companies, which resulted in past decades in large recoveries in lawsuits brought by individuals and government entities against those companies. I think we owe it to our citizens to join in this litigation.”
A high financial costApart the obvious human cost in dealing with addiction, Osterberg said the financial cost of the epidemic is also significant, including:
Drug and alcohol services through Medial Assistance
Drug and alcohol services for county employees and plan members
Prescription opioids for employees and plan members in county self-insured plans
Autopsy costs and storage fees for overdose deaths
Workers compensation premiums and payments
Criminal justice costs that come with running county jails, drug testing, and family services costs related to substance use disorders
Emergency services for overdoses and the administration of Narcan, the opioid antidote
Osterberg said many babies are born with an addiction because of their parents' drug use.
“The cost of treating is staggering," he said.
He said the county wants to help those in treatment facilities to stay off drugs after they leave.
Commissioner Guccini spoke about the importance of having a national health care plan. Legal action is a good idea, he said, but federal and state legislators have to do more. For the first time, he said, life expectancy is decreasing across the country, with the trend attributed to opioid use (see related story).
Osterberg cited other disturbing statistics. For every person who dies of an overdose, he said, 700 use opioids without a prescription or not as prescribed.
Osterberg said it’s become far too easy to obtain opioids. They’ve become commonplace in hospitals because of the intense marketing by pharmaceutical companies.
“You only have to tick a box asking, 'Are you in pain?'” he said.
Vigilance neededGuccini urged everyone to be vigilant about public officials doing their job, including the commissioners themselves, to keep on top of the crisis.
Osterberg spoke passionately about his wish to hold those responsible to account. He compared the case to the ones brought against the tobacco industry in the past, after it had maintained for decades that tobacco use was harmless. The big tobacco-producing companies had to pay out billions of dollars.
There is a place for opioid medications in cases of severe pain, as in cancer treatment, Osterberg said.
“Large numbers of people in the county are suffering from this,” he indicated. “Oxycodone is addictive.”
Oxycodone, or OxyContin, is the prescription, timed-release opioid drug that most experts say started the epidemic.
According to naabt.org, examples of opioid painkillers include morphine, methadone, Buprenorphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone.
Heroin is also an opioid and is illegal. Opioid drugs sold under brand names include OxyContin, Percocet, Palladone (taken off the market 7/2005), Vicodin, Percodan, Tylox, and Demerol, among others.
Illicit drugs that are not opioids include cocaine, methamphetamines, ecstasy, LSD, GHB, and Ketamine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3,200 Pennsylvanians died due to drug overdoses in 2015. -
Exclusive: New York counties suing pharmaceutical companies over opioid epidemic
Sep 27, 2017 | ABC 7 Eyewitness News
By Kristin Thorne
One of the largest coordinated lawsuits in the country against pharmaceutical companies in relation to the opioid crisis began Wednesday on Long Island.
Representatives from 19 pharmaceutical companies and nine counties across New York state met with a Supreme Court judge in Central Islip to discuss the schedule for the proceedings.
Eyewitness News was the only media outlet in court.
"Today was really the first day the counties were able to unite, to come together to fight the epidemic against the manufacturers," attorney Paul Napoli said.
The counties are trying to hold the various pharmaceutical companies financially responsible for the counties' opioid and heroin epidemics. The counties include Nassau, Suffolk, Schenectady, Broome, Erie, Dutchess, Orange, Seneca and Sullivan. Six additional counties are expected to join the lawsuit in the next few days or weeks.
"We're getting probably three to four phone calls a day from counties," attorney Paul Hanly said. "Not only in New York, but around the nation."
Attorneys for the counties allege that the pharmaceutical companies engaged in deceptive marketing regarding the addictiveness of their prescription painkillers. The counties are seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the millions of dollars they spend each year to combat the growing opioid and heroin epidemics. Costs include police overtime, Narcan training and rehabilitation clinics and programs.
"Some of the counties are spending up to 30 percent of their income on police training, Narcan, indigent burials, body bags," attorney Maria Napoli said.
The defendants include Purdue Pharmaceutical, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon Inc, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Actavis Inc., Watson Laboratories, Insys Therapeutics, McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and Amerisource Drug Corporation. Five doctors are also named in the suit.
"It's a long road," Hanly said. "We have a lot of work to do. These are some of the largest companies in the world. Our mandate from our county clients is to move these cases as quickly as possible."
The counties allege the doctors knowingly over-prescribed painkillers to their patients.
"They know where these pills have been going," Paul Napoli said. "They know what pharmacies they go to. They know who the bad doctors are."
Representatives for the pharmaceutical companies declined to comment on the litigation. It is expected they will file a motion to dismiss the case. -
County files lawsuit against drug companies
Sep 27, 2017 | Daily Journal
By Jeff Bonty
Kankakee County is taking its battle with opioids to the national level.
On Tuesday, the national law firm of Simmons Hanly Conroy filed a lawsuit on behalf of the county which contends pharmaceutical companies and physicians have used aggressive and fraudulent marketing of prescription opioid painkillers that has led to a drug epidemic in the county and throughout the nation.
According to its release, Simmons Hanly Conroy is focused on consumer protection and mass tort actions.
It comes one day after State's Attorney Jim Rowe and several other police, government officials and doctors held the first of three public forums on the opioid-heroin crisis that has seen 44 people die of drug overdoses since Dec. 1, 2016, in the county.
There were 35 drug overdose deaths in the county from Dec. 1, 2015, to Nov. 30, 2016. The prior year there were 26.
Riverside Medical Center and Presence St. Mary's Hospital have seen more than 600 drug overdose emergency room visits combined so far this year.
"From our Court Street to our nation's Wall Street, the laws must apply to everyone," Rowe said in a release. "Those pharmaceutical companies that recklessly distribute opiates into our community are nothing more than heroin dealers in business suits selling from behind a desk as opposed to on our street corners.
"They are a drain on our families, neighborhoods and taxpayers. I am proud that Kankakee County is joining in this effort to hold them accountable, and I pledge the support and resources of my office to assist in the litigation."
County Board chairman Andy Wheeler said besides the emotional toll, this epidemic proves costly for the county and all local governments.
"Kankakee County is experiencing a surge in financial costs," he said in the release.
"Kankakee County is near the top of the list in terms of opioid related deaths-per-capita in Illinois, and the added costs of autopsies, life-saving Narcan administration, law enforcement and the judicial resources necessary to combat this epidemic is putting a burden on an already strained budget. We just can't keep up with the costs."
The lawsuit alleges the defendants sought to create a false perception in the minds of physicians, patients, health care providers and health care payers that using opioids to treat chronic pain was safe for most patients and that the drugs' benefits outweighed the risks.
According to 2014 statistics provided by Illinois Department of Public Health, in Illinois, more people died from an opioid drug overdose than from homicide or motor vehicle accidents.
-
Sep 27, 2017 | NY Daily News
By Larry McShane
A White House commission on opioid abuse held its third public meeting Wednesday, a stark reminder that President Trump had yet to pronounce the crisis a national emergency.
The President, at a New Jersey news conference six weeks ago, announced he would make an official announcement regarding the plague that kills tens of thousands of U.S. drug overdose victims.
But with October closing in, no public White House proclamation about the national issue has followed.
The President’s Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis was among those recommending that Trump declare an emergency.
A presidential statement would remove impediments for treatment, supply first responders with anti-overdose drugs and allow federal agencies to lean on Congress for additional funding.
The group headed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is due to deliver its final report on the nation’s opioid problems on Nov. 1.
More than 52,000 Americans died of overdoses in 2015 — with roughly two in three linked to opioids.
-
State files suit against opioid manufacturers
Sep 27, 2017 | KADN News 15
By Staff
The Louisiana Department of Health has filed a law suit filed against several leading opioid manufacturers for what it claims is their role in escalating the opioid crisis in Louisiana.
The lawsuit, filed in the 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish, alleges that the drug companies engaged in fraudulent marketing regarding the risks and benefits of prescription opioids, which helped fuel Louisiana’s opioid epidemic.
The department is seeking damages for the amounts it has already paid for excessive opioid prescriptions and treatment costs as a result of those prescriptions.
Louisiana joins dozens of other cities, counties and states that have filed similar lawsuits in response to the growing number of cases of opioid addition and opioid-related deaths throughout the country. Lawsuits were also filed last week by local sheriffs offices in Avoyelles, Lafayette, Jefferson Davis and Rapides parishes.
“By all means necessary, we are fighting the opioid epidemic in Louisiana,” said Dr. Rebekah Gee, secretary of the state Department of Health. “All indicators of this problem – opioid prescriptions, overdoses and deaths – are up. Recognizing that a key contributor to opioid addiction is prescription medications, where 110 prescriptions for opioids are written for every 100 Louisiana residents, we are addressing a fundamental cause of this problem.”
-
La. Dept. of Health files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers; blames them for crisis
Sep 28, 2017 | WAFB News 9
By Rachael Thomas
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) has announced they are filing a lawsuit against several leading opioid manufacturers for their alleged role is escalating the opioid crisis.
The lawsuit, filed in the 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish, claims that the drug companies use fraudulent marketing about the risks and benefits of prescription opioids, which help to fuel the opioid epidemic Louisiana is facing.
"These drug companies led prescribers to believe that opioids were not addictive and even suggested that treating physicians prescribe greater dosage units to those who had already become addicted to opioids. As evident by the hundreds of Louisiana families that have lost loved ones due to this crisis, nothing could be further from the truth. We intend to hold these pharmaceutical companies responsible for the lasting damage they have caused upon our people and the millions of dollars their wrongful claims have cost our state," said Governor John Bel Edwards.
LDH is seeking damages for the money it has already paid for excessive opioid prescriptions and treatment costs as a result of prescriptions written.
Many other cities and states have filed similar lawsuits due to higher number of opioid-related deaths. Lawsuits were filed last week in Avoyelles, Lafayette, Jefferson Davis, and Rapides Parishes.
"By all means necessary, we are fighting the opioids epidemic in Louisiana. All indicators of this problem - opioid prescriptions, overdoses, and deaths - are up. Recognizing that a key contributor to opioid addiction is prescription medications, where 110 prescriptions for opioids are written for every 100 Louisiana residents, we are addressing a fundamental cause of this problem," said Dr. Rebekah Gee, secretary of LDH.
-
Louisiana Department of Health files suit against opioid manufacturers
Sep 28, 2017 | The Advocate (LA)
By Mark Ballard
Louisiana joined a growing list of state and local governments Wednesday by taking legal action claiming drug manufacturers purposely escalated an opioid crisis that has led to thousands of overdose deaths in the state.
The petition claims “drug manufacturers undertook an orchestrated campaign to flood Louisiana with highly addictive and dangerous opioids in an effort to maximize profits above the health and well-being of their customers, including the healthcare systems supporting those customers.”
Lawyers from the Louisiana Department of Health and the Governor’s Office filed the lawsuit at the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge.
Similar lawsuits have been filed recently by state governments in Mississippi, Illinois and West Virginia, as well as other by local governments in New York, California and Washington state.
Lawsuits were also filed last week by sheriffs' offices in Avoyelles, Lafayette, Jefferson Davis and Rapides parishes.
A key defendant among 16 drug manufacturers named in the Louisiana lawsuit, as well as in other states, is Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin.
“These drug companies led prescribers to believe that opioids were not addictive and even suggested that treating physicians prescribe greater dosage units to those who had already become addicted to opioids,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a statement.
The argument goes that once the prescriptions ran out and the legal opioids became harder to get, a number of people turned to lower-costing illegal drugs, such as heroin, to feed their addiction. Overdose deaths across Louisiana — including in Baton Rouge and New Orleans — outnumbered homicides for the first time in 2016.
“As evident by the hundreds of Louisiana families that have lost loved ones due to this crisis, nothing could be further from the truth,” Edwards said. “We intend to hold these pharmaceutical companies responsible for the lasting damage they have caused upon our people and the millions of dollars their wrongful claims have cost our state.”
The state is also seeking damages for the amounts it has already paid for excessive opioid prescriptions and treatment costs as a result of those prescriptions.
The legal actions are similar to the litigation that in 1998 led the tobacco industry to enter into the largest settlement in U.S. history. Louisiana uses interest off the proceeds of the tobacco settlement to help pay TOPS, the popular government grant that covers most tuition costs at state colleges and universities.
State attorneys general had sued tobacco companies, arguing that the companies should take up the burden of paying for the costs of treating smoking-related diseases.
Dr. Rebekah Gee, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, said the state is fighting the opioid epidemic “by all means necessary.”
But the governor’s action didn’t include Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who represents the state in most matters.
“We were made aware of this lawsuit after it was filed and will make no further comment until after we have had the opportunity to fully evaluate the merits of the lawsuit,” Landry said.
“I have made ending the opioid epidemic a top priority for my office,” Landry added. “From educating the public to providing first responders with Naloxone and from leading drug take back efforts to joining other state attorneys general in multi-state litigation, we have been doing all we legally can to protect Louisiana and its people.”
-
Louisiana sues opioid manufacturers alleging fraudulent marketing
Sep 27, 2017 | The Times Picayune
By Julia O'Donoghue
Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration is suing opioid drug manufacturers for false marketing that it says caused the skyrocketing opioid addiction and overdose rates in Louisiana. Edwards is seeking damages for the amounts the state paid for excessive opioid prescriptions and treatment costs as a result of those prescriptions, according a press release sent from the governor's office Wednesday (Sept. 27).
"These drug companies led prescribers to believe that opioids were not addictive and even suggested that treating physicians prescribe greater dosage units to those who had already become addicted to opioids," Edwards said in a written statement.
The Louisiana Department of Health said 110 opioid prescriptions are written in Louisiana for every 100 residents that live in the state over the past 12 months. This past spring, Edwards and the Legislature passed a new law that limited the number of opioid pills that can be included in a prescription given after a routine procedure, such as a root canal. Doctors are now supposed to write opioid prescriptions that last a maximum of seven days after minor procedures, instead of for 30 days as was previously allowed.
That new limitation won't help people who are already suffering from opioid addiction however, which is why the lawsuit has been filed.
"We intend to hold these pharmaceutical companies responsible for the lasting damage they have caused upon our people and the millions of dollars their wrongful claims have cost our state," Edwards said.
Several other cities, counties and states have filed similar lawsuits in response to the alarming number of cases of opioid addition and opioid-related deaths throughout the country. Local sheriffs in Avoyelles, Lafayette, Jefferson Davis and Rapides Parishes filed their own, separate lawsuits on top of the state's this week, according to the governor's office.
"By all means necessary, we are fighting the opioid epidemic in Louisiana," said Rebekah Gee, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
The state's lawsuit was filed in the 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish.
-
DHH files suit against opiod manufactures
Sep 27, 2017 | KATC 3 News
By Staff
The Louisiana Department of Health has filed suit against several leading opioid manufacturers for their role in escalating the opioid crisis in Louisiana, the Governor's Office announced.
The lawsuit, filed in the 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish, alleges that the drug companies engaged in fraudulent marketing regarding the risks and benefits of prescription opioids, which helped fuel Louisiana’s opioid epidemic.
“These drug companies led prescribers to believe that opioids were not addictive and even suggested that treating physicians prescribe greater dosage units to those who had already become addicted to opioids,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “As evident by the hundreds of Louisiana families that have lost loved ones due to this crisis, nothing could be further from the truth. We intend to hold these pharmaceutical companies responsible for the lasting damage they have caused upon our people and the millions of dollars their wrongful claims have cost our state.”
The Louisiana Department of Health is seeking damages for the amounts it has already paid for excessive opioid prescriptions and treatment costs as a result of those prescriptions.
Louisiana joins dozens of other cities, counties and states that have filed similar lawsuits in response to the alarming number of cases of opioid addition and opioid-related deaths throughout the country. Lawsuits were also filed last week by local sheriff’s offices in Avoyelles, Lafayette, Jefferson Davis and Rapides Parishes.
"By all means necessary, we are fighting the opioid epidemic in Louisiana. All indicators of this problem - opioid prescriptions, overdoses and deaths - are up. Recognizing that a key contributor to opioid addiction is prescription medications, where 110 prescriptions for opioids are written for every 100 Louisiana residents, we are addressing a fundamental cause of this problem," said Dr. Rebekah Gee, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
-
Sep 28, 2017 | KIRO (CBS)
By Seattle, WA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685808?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54
Rough Transcript: washington's attorney general bob ferguson plans to announce a major lawsuit against one of the largest opioid manufacturers. we don't know which manufacturer the suit will be against yet.at least two cities here in western washington are already suing purdue pharmacueticals which makes oxycontin. the cities of everett's case moved forward this week after perdue tried to dismiss the case saying it's not liable for the opioid epidemic ravaging the city. tacoma is also suing purdue - as well as endo and janssen pharmaceuticals. today- first lady melania trump is expected to hold a listening session with experts and people affected by the opioid crisis.a day after officials in the pharmaceutical industry and government gathered to discuss ways to combat drug addiction. one of the suggestions yesterday- was limiting the supply of opioids to 7 days from the traditional 30-day supply for short-term pain management.the deadline for the commission's final report is november 1st.
-
Sep 28, 2017 | WVUE (FOX)
By New Orleans, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685814?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54
Rough Transcript: louisiana goes after the makers of opioids in a new lawsuit. the suit claims manufacturers used false marketing -- and are responsible for the state's opioid crisis. it also seeks damages for what the state paid for excessive opioid prescriptions and addiction treatment. dozens of other states -- counties and cities across the country have filed similar lawsuits.
-
Sep 28, 2017 | KVHP (FOX)
By Lake Charles, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685818?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54
Rough Transcript: the louisiana department of health says drug manufactures should pay for the state's opioid epidemic. the state is suing a number of lead manufacturers, claiming pill makers lied about the risks and benefits of prescription pain killers. leaders are asking for damages to pay for the excessive prescriptions and treatments the state has paid out. similar lawsuits were filed in avoyelles, lafayette, jeff davis, and rapides parishes last week.
-
Sep 28, 2017 | WGNO (ABC)
By New Orleans, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685846?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54
Rough Transcript: the state health department suing more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies.... accusing them of worsening opioid abuse. the lawsuit says drug makers used marketing tactics that misrepresented the dangers of long-term opioid usage.... 305 people died in the state from opoid-related deaths last year. just last week, the state announced a milion dollars in grants to track opioid deaths and prescription rates.
-
Sep 28, 2017 | KATC (ABC)
By Layfayette, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685849?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54
Rough Transcript: the state department of health is suing more than a dozen pharmaceutical companie.. accusing them of worsening opioid abuse in the state. the 57-page lawsuit claims the companies used marketing tactics that misrepresented the dangers of long-term opioid use. a separate lawsuit filed by louisiana sheriffs... including lafayette sheriff mark garber... is pending.
-
Sep 28, 2017 | KXIIDT3 (FOX)
By Sherman, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685856?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54
Rough Transcript: a group of drug companies have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the oklahoma attorney general... that accuses the companies of fueling the state )s opioid epidemic. the oklahoman reports about a dozen pharmaceutical companies filed a legal brief on friday saying they )ve complied with the u.s. food and drug administration )s requirements to warn the public about potential risks that come with using their drugs. the brief also says the companies can )t be blamed for all the state )s opioid-related problems. if the cleveland county judge doesn )t dismiss the case, drug companies are asking for proceedings to be delayed until the fda can complete an investigation on the risks and benefits of opioids.
-
Sep 28, 2017 | WVLA (NBC)
By Baton Rouge, LA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29685874?token=21a960f4-24c4-4b78-b276-7093318abd54
Rough Transcript: the louisiana department of health has filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers -for their role in escalating the opioid crisis in our state.. the lawsuit filed alleges that the drug companies have engaged in fraudulent marketing, when it comes to the risks and benefits of prescription opioids.. which they say have helped fuel louisiana's opioid epidemic. just last week, authorities in alexandria announced similar lawsuits they filed against drug companies over the cris... governor john bel edwards released a statement on the lawsuit. it says in part - quote: "as evident by the hundreds of louisiana families that have lost loved ones due to this crisis, nothing could be further from the truth. we intend to hold these pharmaceutical companies responsible for the lasting damage they have caused upon our people and the millions of dollars their wrongful claims have cost our state."
Opioid Commission Meeting
Other Coverage
Louisiana Department of Health
Broadcast Media Coverage
Add recipients
Suggested