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Opioid Litigation Media Report 10/13/17

Michigan Lawsuit

2 counties sue drug manufacturers over opioid marketing
Oct 13, 2017 | Associated Press

Two Michigan counties say they are suing about a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors for deceptive marketing and sale of opioids.
Oakland, Wayne counties file lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies over marketing of opioids
Oct 12, 2017 | Oakland Free Press (MI)
By Mark Cavitt

Oakland and Wayne county have filed a joint lawsuit against 12 pharmaceutical companies over the Big Tobacco-style marketing of prescription drugs.
Wayne, Oakland counties sue drug companies to fight opioid crisis
Oct 12, 2017 | Fox 2 Detroit (MI)
By Erika Erickson

Wayne and Oakland counties are suing more than a dozen drug manufacturers to address the opioid crisis. Calling them greedy and deceiving, 13 drug companies and distributors are listed on a nearly 200-page lawsuit filed Thursday.
Wayne, Oakland Counties Sue Pharma Companies Over Opioid Epidemic (AUDIO)
Oct 12, 2017 | WDET.org

Wayne and Oakland Counties are filing a joint lawsuit against a dozen drug companies for their part in the nation’s opioid epidemic. The suit alleges that drug manufacturers and distributors of drugs like OxyContin and Fentanyl knowingly downplayed the drugs’ potential for addiction to patients and doctors. The suit claims drug manufactures funded false studies that promoted opioid prescription, while drug distributors failed to report suspicious sales. Listen to clip here: https://wdet.org/posts/2017/10/12/85905-wayne-oakland-counties-sue-pharma-companies-over-opioid-epidemic/
Wayne, Oakland counties target opioid drug makers in lawsuit
Oct 13, 2017 | Michigan Radio
By Catherine Shaffer

Oakland and Wayne County Executives have filed suit in federal court against 13 opioid drug manufacturers and distributors.
As opioid deaths rise, Wayne and Oakland County join forces to battle drug companies
Oct 12, 2017 | Michigan Chronicle

Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson today announced a joint lawsuit against multiple drug manufacturers and distributors alleging the deceptive marketing and sale of opioids – a dangerous, highly addictive and often lethal class of painkillers, including OxyContin and Fentanyl. The lawsuit, the first such suit filed in Michigan, comes as opioid-related deaths continue to climb and opioid-related addiction continues to devastate communities across the country.
Wayne, Oakland counties sue drugmakers, distributors over opioids epidemic
Oct 12, 2017 | Crain's Detroit Business
By Kurt Nagl

Wayne and Oakland counties on Thursday filed a lawsuit against a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors, alleging deceptive marketing and sale of opioids.
Two Michigan counties sue drug companies over skyrocketing opioid deaths
Oct 13, 2017 | Michigan Live
By Dana Afana

Wayne and Oakland counties filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against 12 drug manufacturers, claiming the companies use "deceptive marketing" of opioids that has contributed to widespread addiction.
Oakland, Wayne sue drug makers over opioid crisis
Oct 12, 2017 | Detroit News
By Charles E. Ramirez

Oakland and Wayne counties are suing several pharmaceutical makers over what they call "deceptive marketing practices" amid a rising number of opioid deaths, officials said Thursday.
Wayne, Oakland sue drugmakers over opioid epidemic
Oct 12, 2017 | Detroit Free Press
By Hasan Dudar

Wayne and Oakland county executives announced a joint lawsuit today against several drug manufacturers and distributors, alleging the "deceptive marketing and sale of opioids" including OxyContin and Fentanyl.
Wayne, Oakland counties sue drug companies for opioid epidemic
Oct 12, 2017 | WXYZ ABC Detroit (MI)

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced a joint lawsuit against multiple drug manufacturers and distributors alleging the deceptive marketing and sale of opioids.

Other Relevant Coverage

10 recent opioid epidemic lawsuits
Oct 12, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review
By Brian Zimmerman

The following lawsuits were announced or filed since June by counties, cities and states, seeking to recover funds spent addressing widespread illicit opioid use in each community.
Should drug companies pay? (EDITORIAL)
Oct 13, 2017 | Wilkes Journal-Patriot (NC)

A growing number of state and local governments are taking steps to make pharmaceutical manufacturers and drug distributors help pay for the nation’s worsening opioid crisis.

Broadcast Media Coverage

Sunrise 7
Oct 13, 2017 | WSAW CBS Wausau, WI

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WNEM-TV5 News
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News 8 Daybreak
Oct 13, 2017 | WOOD NBC Grand Rapids, MI

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News 10 at 4p
Oct 12, 2017 | WILX NBC Lansing, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084725?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
FOX2 News
Oct 12, 2017 | WJBK Fox Detroit, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084738?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
9/10 News at 5:00
Oct 13, 2017 | WWTV CBS Traverse City, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084749?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
7 Action News at 6pm
Oct 12, 2017 | WXYZ ABC Detroit, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084816?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
6 News at 6
Oct 12, 2017 | WLAJ ABC Lansing, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084845?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9

Full Text of Stories Below

Michigan Lawsuit

2 counties sue drug manufacturers over opioid marketing

Oct 13, 2017 | Associated Press

Two Michigan counties say they are suing about a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors for deceptive marketing and sale of opioids.
The joint lawsuit was announced Thursday by Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
It alleges that drug manufacturers are using a "concerted, coordinated strategy to shift the way in which doctors and patients think about pain and to encourage the widespread prescribing and use of opioids."
Officials say there were 817 opioid-related deaths in Wayne County last year, up from 506 the year before. Oakland County opioid-related deaths rose from nine in 2009 to 33 in 2015.

Last week, Newark, New Jersey, announced it was suing several opioid manufacturers, saying they downplayed the risk of opioid addiction and overstated the drugs' long-term benefits.

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Oakland, Wayne counties file lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies over marketing of opioids

Oct 12, 2017 | Oakland Free Press (MI)

By Mark Cavitt

Oakland and Wayne county have filed a joint lawsuit against 12 pharmaceutical companies over the Big Tobacco-style marketing of prescription drugs.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Wayne County Executive Warren Evans made the announcement in Downtown Detroit Thursday afternoon joined by public health and legal officials. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court Thursday morning.
“They put profits over people and now people are paying the price, some with their lives,” said Patterson. “They utilized misleading information, marketing campaigns, and studies to convince the public that their product was safe.
Patterson added that he and Evans have a duty to protect their residents.
“This is an epidemic,’ said Patterson. “We are committed to taking this thing as far as we can.” .
Oakland and Wayne county are just a few of the many other state, county and local governments suing drugmakers and distributors in an attempt to recoup damages for costs dealing with opioid overdoses, the treating and housing of addicts and training county staff on the use of Naloxone, a life-saving drug used by law enforcement to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
The lawsuit states that the pharmaceutical companies deceptive marketing style of opioids to doctors promotes the idea that they could prescribe these addictive painkillers as an effective way to manage chronic pain.
The lawsuits also state that the industry is downplaying the addictive nature of the drugs and the potential risk to the public.
Evans said drug companies have made billions off this health crisis while lives are being ruined and lost. He added that there has to be a price paid when corporations show disregard for human life.
The Miller Law Firm based in Rochester and Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd LLP., based in Boca Raton, Fla., are representing Oakland and Wayne county.
“As communities like Oakland and Wayne county continue to shoulder the burden of this epidemic, justice demands that the companies responsible pay for the tragedy they’ve created,” said E. Powell Miller.
Lawsuits being filed around the country share similar allegations including: undisclosed use of paid doctors to promote the benefits of opioids and the use of front groups to “educate” patients, without disclosing a financial relationship with the drug maker.
BY THE NUMBERS
• According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there were 91 opioid-related deaths in Oakland County from 2011 to 2015.
• In 2016, according to the Oakland County Health Division, there were 165 opioid-related deaths.
• From 2009-2013, there was a 136 percent increase in the number of drug-addicted babies born in Oakland County.
• Confirmed opioid-related deaths (in Oakland County) went up 267 percent from 9 deaths in 2009 to 33 deaths in 2015.
• According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there were 780 opioid-related deaths in Wayne County, including Detroit, from 2011-2015. That is the most among all counties in the state.
• Opioid-related deaths in each county has increased each year from 2011 to 2016.
NATIONAL SCALE
This legal action tied to opioids is increasing around the country at the same time that lawmakers are seeking more funding for costs related to opioid abuse, addiction and overdoses.
According to NPR, President Trump’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis had recommended in an interim report released July 31 that Trump immediately declare a national emergency, citing an overdose death rate of 142 a day.
In early August, President Trump said he’s ready to declare a national emergency, promising “to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis.”
Declaration of a national emergency would clear the way for extra funding and government authority to address the wave of opioid-related deaths.
According to according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 22,000 Americans died from prescription opioid overdoses in 2015, an increase from 19,000 the year before.
LAWSUIT: Read the lawsuit here, millerlawpc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Filed-Opioid-Complaint.pdf

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Wayne, Oakland counties sue drug companies to fight opioid crisis

Oct 12, 2017 | Fox 2 Detroit (MI)

By Erika Erickson

Wayne and Oakland counties are suing more than a dozen drug manufacturers to address the opioid crisis.
Calling them greedy and deceiving, 13 drug companies and distributors are listed on a nearly 200-page lawsuit filed Thursday.
"It's just staggering that we've gotten to this point," said Warren County Executive Warren Evans.
Wayne and Oakland county executives, along with attorney Powell Miller say the companies are fueling the deadly opioid epidemic.
"(There are) more opiate prescriptions in Michigan than there are people," Miller said. "That's the brightest red flag out there that something is wrong."
The lawsuit accused the companies of deceptive marketing, prescribing opioids for chronic pain and not informing patients and some doctors, of the drug risks or addictiveness.
"False information, propaganda, providing information to doctors," Miller said. "Sometimes compensating doctors."
The suit states that in Wayne County opioid-related deaths have increased by 61 percent from 2015 to 2016 and in Oakland County, they've increased by 267 percent.
"They're manufacturing enough pills that everyone in my county could have 45 pills," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "That's over-prescribing, over-manufacturing and over-distributing."
As for the profits, in 2011 pharmaceutical companies generated $11 billion just from opioid sales.
"I see it as a corporation profits (and) disregards human life," Evans said.
While all agree there are legitimate uses for these drugs, the crisis continues to take lives and the financial consequences are major. Each county pays more for law enforcement and medical care as a result.
"The human cost and the financial costs in two counties is significant," Evans said. "And we think some compensation is necessary for bad behavior."
"I'm hoping we can go full court press on the opioid crisis from the legislators, from lawyers, from regulators, from the media," Miller said. "We've got to stop this problem. It's an embarrassment."
Miller says they still need more patients and doctors to come forward to be a part of this lawsuit. To learn more, CLICK HERE.

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Wayne, Oakland Counties Sue Pharma Companies Over Opioid Epidemic (AUDIO)

Oct 12, 2017 | WDET.org

Wayne and Oakland Counties are filing a joint lawsuit against a dozen drug companies for their part in the nation’s opioid epidemic. The suit alleges that drug manufacturers and distributors of drugs like OxyContin and Fentanyl knowingly downplayed the drugs’ potential for addiction to patients and doctors. The suit claims drug manufactures funded false studies that promoted opioid prescription, while drug distributors failed to report suspicious sales.
The suit also claims the companies took part in a mass disinformation campaign to broaden the use of opioids for common chronic pain conditions. “It all relates to the same deceptive acts,” says Lead Counsel Powell Miller. “[The companies] can make a lot more money if these drugs [are] used for people with chronic pain and not just people who have end-stage cancer or acute pain like after a surgery or a terrible accident.”
Powell says by marketing opioids as a treatment for common chronic pain conditions, drug companies are able to advertise for ailments that affect a third of the U.S. population. As a result, Powell says Michigan doctors wrote 11 million prescriptions for opioids last year, while there are nearly 10 million people living in Michigan.
“The opioid industry has taken a page out of big tobacco’s playbook,” says Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “They utilized misleading information, marketing campaigns, and studies to convince the public that their product was safe.”
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans says the opioid prescription market helps foster the use of its cheaper counterpart: heroin. “We also believe that the human cost and the financial costs to counties is significant,” says Evans. “We think that some compensation is necessary for bad behavior.”
Wayne County says opioid-related deaths jumped to 817 last year, up 61 percent from 2015. That year, 33,000 people nationwide died from opioid-related overdoses, more than any year on record.
Listen to clip here: https://wdet.org/posts/2017/10/12/85905-wayne-oakland-counties-sue-pharma-companies-over-opioid-epidemic/

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Wayne, Oakland counties target opioid drug makers in lawsuit

Oct 13, 2017 | Michigan Radio

By Catherine Shaffer

Oakland and Wayne County Executives have filed suit in federal court against 13 opioid drug manufacturers and distributors.
They claim the drug makers' deceptive marketing campaigns over many years contributed heavily to the current opioid addiction crisis.
In 2016, there were 817 opioid-related deaths in Wayne County, a 61 percent increase over the previous year. In Oakland County, opioid-related deaths have risent from 9 in 2009 to 33 in 2015.
The counties are seeking compensation for their expenses related to the opioid crisis, including costs for law enforcement, courts, jails, emergency medical care, public works, and substance abuse treatment.
The lawsuit alleges that drug makers and distributors knowingly deceived doctors and the public that their drugs were safe for treatment of chronic pain and minimized their addictive potential. Meanwhile, the drug companies have made billions in profits from prescription opioid drugs. A report published in Fortune Magazine estimated that the pharmaceutical industry made $11 billion in revenue from opioid sales alone in 2011.
"There has been dramatic increases in opiate prescriptions for common chronic pain problems, which has dramatically increased the scale of prescriptions, the number of addiction problems, and all of the other horrors that the opiate crisis has created," said Powell Miller, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the suit.
The companies named in the suit are Purdue Pharma, Cephalon, Endo International, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Insys Therapeutics Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health, McKesson Corporation, Mallinckrodt PLC, and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.
The court filing details many complaints against drug manufacturers. For example, Purdue markets a number of opioid drugs including Oxycontin, Dilaudid, and a type of extended-release morphine. According to the lawsuit, Purdue falsely marketed extended-release drugs as safer and more effective than immediate-release drugs and falsely informed physicians that the drug had a low risk of addiction.
The plaintiffs also allege that Purdue funded publications and presentations with false or misleading messages. In 2007, Purdue and three of its executives pled guilty to federal charges of misbranding Oxycontin, acknowledging a deliberate attempt to mislead doctors about the addiction risks. Purdue was ordered to pay $600 million in fines and fees.
Many similar allegations are made against the other defendants in the case.
Aelish Baig is an attorney with Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd, LLP, one of the firms representing Wanye and Oakland counties. She says that this lawsuit is unusual in that it is one of the first to target drug distributors and drug manufacturers in the same complaint.
"When you're suing the manufacturers, you're suing the manufacturers for false marketing. When you're suing the distributors, you're suing the distributors for failing to report suspicious sales," said Baig.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

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As opioid deaths rise, Wayne and Oakland County join forces to battle drug companies

Oct 12, 2017 | Michigan Chronicle

Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson today announced a joint lawsuit against multiple drug manufacturers and distributors alleging the deceptive marketing and sale of opioids – a dangerous, highly addictive and often lethal class of painkillers, including OxyContin and Fentanyl. The lawsuit, the first such suit filed in Michigan, comes as opioid-related deaths continue to climb and opioid-related addiction continues to devastate communities across the country.
“This is a full-blown health crisis from which the drug companies made billions,” Executive Evans said. “People are dying and lives are being ruined by addiction as this horrible tragedy unfolds. We see the devastation every day in our hospitals, in our jails and at the morgue, and it’s getting worse. There has to be a price to be paid when corporations show such disregard for human life.”
The lawsuit alleges that one of the main drivers of the catastrophic nationwide opioid epidemic is drug manufacturers’ deceptive marketing and sale of opioids to treat chronic pain, including their concerted, coordinated strategy to shift the way in which doctors and patients think about pain and to encourage the widespread prescribing and use of opioids.
The complaint alleges that defendants intentionally misled doctors and patients about the appropriate uses, risks, safety, and efficacy of prescription opioids while downplaying the risks of addiction. The defendants in the case are Purdue Pharma, L.P., Cephalon, Inc., Endo International, PLC, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA, Inc., Insys Therapeutics, Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., McKesson Corporation, Mallinckrodt PLC and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.
“The opioid industry has taken a page out of big tobacco’s playbook,” Executive Patterson said. “They utilized misleading information, marketing campaigns, and studies to convince the public that their product was safe. They put profits over people and now people are paying the price, some with their lives.”
In all, more than 183,000 people died in the United States between 1999 and 2015 from overdoses directly related to prescription opioids. In 2016, opioid-related deaths in Wayne County alone totaled 817, up from 506 in 2015, a 61% increase. Opioid related deaths in Oakland County increased 267% from 9 deaths in 2009 to 33 deaths in 2015.
Wayne and Oakland Counties have also suffered significant financial consequences that continue to grow as a result of opioid over-prescription and addiction, including increased costs for law enforcement, courts, jails, emergency and medical care services, public works, and substance abuse treatment and diversion plans.
“There was a concerted, and tragically successful effort to get more doctors to prescribe these drugs while distorting the conversation about addiction,” said Lead Counsel E. Powell Miller of The Miller Law Firm, which is representing both Wayne and Oakland counties. “As communities like Oakland and Wayne County continue to shoulder the burden of this epidemic, justice demands that the companies responsible pay for the tragedy they’ve created.”
The complaint alleges that defendants, including McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health which are each among the top 15 companies in the Fortune 500, have reaped tremendous profits from these practices. In 2011, pharmaceutical companies generated revenues of $11 billion from opioid sales alone[1].
The complaint was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Plaintiffs Wayne and Oakland counties are represented by The Miller Law Firm, P.C. and Robbins, Geller, Rudman & Dowd LLP. In order to have the strongest legal team representation, the Corporation Counsels of Wayne County Zenna Elhasan and Oakland County Keith Lerminiaux sought out the most highly qualified firms to pursue this litigation.
Lawsuit official documents can be found at Millerlawpc.com/opioid

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Wayne, Oakland counties sue drugmakers, distributors over opioids epidemic

Oct 12, 2017 | Crain's Detroit Business

By Kurt Nagl

Wayne and Oakland counties on Thursday filed a lawsuit against a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors, alleging deceptive marketing and sale of opioids.
The joint lawsuit is the first of its kind in Michigan, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said at a news conference Thursday at the Guardian Building in Detroit.
"This is a full-blown health crisis from which the drug companies made billions," Evans said in a statement. "People are dying and lives are being ruined by addiction as this horrible tragedy unfolds."
Opioids are a highly addictive and sometimes lethal class of painkillers, including OxyContin and Fentanyl.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, cites 12 pharmaceutical companies as defendants for complaints of violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, public nuisance, negligence, unjust enrichment and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. It alleges that one of the main drivers of the epidemic is drug manufacturers' deceptive marketing and sale of opioids to treat chronic pain, including a strategy to shift the way in which doctors and patients think about pain and encourage the widespread prescribing and use of opioids.
The lawsuit alleges that the companies, including several among the top 15 in the Fortune 500, have profited greatly from deceptive practices.
Opioid drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions around the country. In August, Gov. Rick Snyder established the Council on Opioid and Prescription Drug Enforcement after signing an executive directive aimed at combating the opioid crisis in Michigan.
Rochester-based Miller Law Firm and San Francisco-based Robbins, Geller, Rudman & Dowd are representing the counties in the lawsuit.
Asked how the the counties decided to team up on the effort, Evans said: "It just so happened that Oakland County and Wayne County went to the same law firm. I think we're very, very comfortable that this firm is the firm that will do what we need to do."
Lead Counsel E. Powell Miller said at the news conference that there are more than 100 similar lawsuits across the country right now, but this one is among the first targeting the manufacturers and the distributors. Lawsuits filed by the city of Chicago and the states of Ohio and Mississippi are among several similar to the one filed by Oakland and Wayne counties.
"There was a concerted and tragically successful effort to get more doctors to prescribe these drugs while distorting the conversation about addiction," Miller said.
Evans and Patterson said the number of opioid-related deaths and incidents have skyrocketed in each county.
More than 183,000 people died in the United States between 1999 and 2015 from overdoses directly related to prescription opioids, according to a news release from the counties. In 2016, opioid-related deaths in Wayne County totaled 817, up from 506 in 2015 — a 61 percent increase, it said. Opioid-related deaths in Oakland County increased 267 percent from nine deaths in 2009 to 33 deaths in 2015.
The counties also say they have suffered significant financial consequences, including increased costs for law enforcement, courts, jails, emergency and medical care services, public works and substance abuse treatment plans.
"We want to do to the opioid manufacturers and distributors the same thing we did 30-40 years ago to the tobacco industry," Patterson said. "We see that they really have taken a page out of the tobacco era — false advertising, false claims, people becoming dependent on these drugs without the fair notice of what could happen to their lives."

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Two Michigan counties sue drug companies over skyrocketing opioid deaths

Oct 13, 2017 | Michigan Live

By Dana Afana

Wayne and Oakland counties filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against 12 drug manufacturers, claiming the companies use "deceptive marketing" of opioids that has contributed to widespread addiction.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced the lawsuit in a Thursday press conference, accusing the drug companies of shifting the way doctors and patients view pain treatment in order to encourage widespread opioid prescription, leading to the rise in opioid-related deaths in Michigan.
"This is a full-blown health crisis from which the drug companies made billions," Evans said. "People are dying and lives are being ruined by addiction as this horrible tragedy unfolds.
"We see the devastation every day in our hospitals, in our jails and at the morgue, and it's getting worse. There has to be a price to be paid when corporations show such disregard for human life."
The complaint alleges the drug companies "intentionally misled" medical professionals and patients about the uses and safety of prescription opioids while "downplaying" addiction risks.
Defendants include: Purdue Pharma L.PCephalon, Inc. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries LTD.Teva Pharmaceuticals U.S.A, Inc. Endo International PLCJanssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Insys Mallinckrodt PLC. Mallinckrodt PLCMallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Amerisourcebergen Corporation Cardinal Health, Inc. McKesson Corporation
The drug companies will have 21 days to respond in court upon being served with the lawsuit.
"The opioid industry has taken a page out of big tobacco's playbook," Patterson said. "They utilized misleading information, marketing campaigns, and studies to convince the public that their product was safe. They put profits over people and now people are paying the price, some with their lives."
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 183,000 people died in the U.S. from prescription opioid overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Wayne County 817 people died in opioid-related deaths in 2016, up from 506 in 2015, according to Evans.
Opioid-related deaths in Oakland County rose from 9 deaths in 2009 to 33 deaths in 2015, and 165 deaths in 2016 involved victims who had taken opioids within a matter of hours of their deaths, according to the Oakland County Health Department.
Patterson noted pharmaceutical companies generated $11 billion of revenue in 2011 from sales alone.
The two counties have also faced financial burdens due to excessive opioid prescription and addiction, including: increased costs for law enforcement, courts, jails, emergency medical care services, public works and substance abuse treatment plans, according to a news release.

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Oakland, Wayne sue drug makers over opioid crisis

Oct 12, 2017 | Detroit News

By Charles E. Ramirez

Oakland and Wayne counties are suing several pharmaceutical makers over what they call "deceptive marketing practices" amid a rising number of opioid deaths, officials said Thursday.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Wayne County Executive Warren Evans announced a joint federal lawsuit against drug makers at a news conference at the Guardian Building in downtown Detroit.
"The opioid industry has taken a page out of big tobacco's playbook," Patterson said Thursday in a statement. "They utilized misleading information, marketing campaigns, and studies to convince the public that their product was safe. They put profits over people and now people are paying the price, some with their lives."
Their suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Detroit , alleges several drug makers intentionally misled doctors and patients about their products' appropriate uses, risks and safety while downplaying the risks of addiction.
Opioid-related deaths have skyrocketed in Wayne and Oakland counties. Wayne County deaths rose 61 percent in 2016 from 506 to 817. In Oakland County, they've increased 267 percent from nine deaths in 2009 to 33 deaths in 2015. Macomb County had 86 opioid-related deaths in 2015, a 60 percent jump from 2014's 50 deaths.
Statewide, the number of opioid-related deaths also are on an upswing.
"This is a full-blown health crisis from which the drug companies made billions," Evans said in a statement. "People are dying and lives are being ruined by addiction as this horrible tragedy unfolds. We see the devastation every day in our hospitals, in our jails, and at the morgue, and it's getting worse. There has to be a price paid when corporations show such disregard for human life."
Rochester-based Miller Law Firm PC and Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd LLP are representing Oakland and Wayne counties in the suit.
The lawsuit seeks to stop drug companies from making further false or misleading statements about opioids and stop them from not reporting suspicious drug orders. It also seeks legal costs and damages.
"There was a concerted, and tragically successful effort to get more doctors to prescribe these drugs while distorting the conversation about addiction," said E. Powell Miller, lead counsel for the counties, in a statement. "As communities like Oakland and Wayne County continue to shoulder the burden of this epidemic, justice demands that the companies responsible pay for the tragedy they've created."
County officials declined to comment on how much each county was paying the law firms representing them, but Miller said the end-game is to have the drug makers foot the bill after his clients win in court.
Representatives from Macomb County, were absent at Thursday's news conference and its name is not among the lawsuit's plaintiffs.
Evans said he didn’t think anyone asked Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel if the county wanted to join the lawsuit, but the county is welcome to do so.
“There’s still plenty of time for Macomb County to join, if it chooses to,” he said.
But Macomb County leaders said the county isn't a part of the suit because it is in the early stages of filing its own legal challenge over the opioid crisis, Hackel said Thursday.
"We are working with a Michigan law firm that's teamed up with a New York firm," he said. "We're in the fact-finding, information-gathering stages, but we're doing the same thing."
He said there will be no cost to the county because the firm's legal cost will be covered by any payout from a lawsuit. Hackel said the county will announce which firm it's working with when it files the lawsuit.
Caitlin Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association that represents biopharmaceutical research companies, said the group cannot comment on legal matters relating to specific member companies.
However, she said the group is strongly committed to working with those in the healthcare industry and policymakers to help address the opioid crisis.
She said it has created policy recommendations and is working with the federal government to foster a public-private partnership that aims to speed up the development of non-opioid drugs for pain and addiction recovery.
In addition, the group said in September it supports policies limiting the supply of opioids to seven days for acute pain.
Officials estimate 1,981 people died from drug overdoses statewide in 2015, up 13.5 percent from the previous year and the state's third consecutive year of increases in drug-related deaths. Deaths from opioids in Michigan have also more than quadrupled from 455 in 1999.
Last month, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he had joined a bipartisan coalition of 41 of his counterparts from across the country to investigate prescription opioid drug makers and distributors.
He said the group has requested information and documents from opioid manufacturers and distributors about their marketing, distribution and sales.
Schuette also has formed an Opioid Trafficking and Interdiction Unit.
In August, President Donald Trump said he would officially declare the U.S. opioid crisis a “national emergency” and pledged to ramp up government efforts to combat the epidemic.

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Wayne, Oakland sue drugmakers over opioid epidemic

Oct 12, 2017 | Detroit Free Press

By Hasan Dudar

Wayne and Oakland county executives announced a joint lawsuit today against several drug manufacturers and distributors, alleging the "deceptive marketing and sale of opioids" including OxyContin and Fentanyl.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans called the opioid-related addictions and deaths—which have claimed 817 lives in his county in 2016, up from 506 in 2015 — a "full-blown health crisis from which the drug companies have made billions," in a joint news release.
Corporation profits "completely disregard" human life, Evans said in a news conference today.
"It is in my mind a very very dark chapter in terms of what it does to lives. But it's equally a dark chapter in terms of what it does to our collective budgets," Evans said at the news conference, citing the increased costs for law enforcement, prosecutors, and medical services.
"All of those things are things that impact a community of taxpayers who would much rather see those dollars obviously go to other areas that are needed and not be a part of a drug problem."
The lawsuit filed in the U.S District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan demands a jury trial and levies the following complaints: violation of Michigan Consumer Protection Act, public nuisance, negligance, unjust enrichment, and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.
The complaint comes less than a month after Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette opened an investigation into opioid manufacturers and distributors. Schuette's probe is part of a bipartisan effort involving 41 state attorneys general that demands detailed information and documents from the corporations, according to the attorney general's website.
In 2015, Michigan saw its third straight year of increased drug overdose deaths, as 1,981 people died because of overdoses — 13.5 percent more than in 2014, according to the attorney general's website.
“Highly addictive opioid drugs have destroyed families, robbed children of parents and robbed parents of children,” Schuette is quoted in the statement. "I will be working with attorneys general from across the country, pooling our resources, and digging into the marketing, distribution and sale of opioids. Once the information has been provided and reviewed, we will take further coordinated legal action as appropriate."
Schuette's investigation is targeting several of the manafucturers that the counties' lawsuit targets, including: Endo International PLC, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Cephalon Inc., Purdue Pharma, and drug distributors, Cardinal Health, Inc. and McKesson Corporation.
The other companies that Oakland and Wayne counties are targeting are: Insys Therapeutics, Inc., Mallinckrodt Plc., Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.

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Wayne, Oakland counties sue drug companies for opioid epidemic

Oct 12, 2017 | WXYZ ABC Detroit (MI)

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced a joint lawsuit against multiple drug manufacturers and distributors alleging the deceptive marketing and sale of opioids.
The lawsuit, the first of its kind filed in Michigan, comes as opioid-related deaths continue to climb.
"This is a full-blown health crisis from which the drug companies made billions," Evans said. "People are dying and lives are being ruined by addiction as this horrible tragedy unfolds. We see the devastation every day in our hospitals, in our jails and at the morgue, and it's getting worse."
"There has to be a price to be paid when corporations show such disregard for human life."
The lawsuit alleges that one of the main drivers of the opioid epidemic is drug manufacturers' deceptive marketing and sale of opioids to treat chronic pain, including a strategy to shift the way in which doctors and patients think about pain and to encouraged widespread prescribing and use of opioids.
The defendants in the case are Purdue Pharma, L.P., Cephalon, Inc., Endo International, PLC, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA, Inc., Insys Therapeutics, Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., McKesson Corporation, Mallinckrodt PLC and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.
The complaint alleges that defendants intentionally misled doctors and patients about the appropriate uses, risks, safety and efficacy of prescription opioids while downplaying risks of addiction.
"The opioid industry has taken a page out of big tobacco's playbook," Patterson said. "They utilized misleading information, marketing campaigns and studies to convince the public that their product was safe. They put profits over people and now people are paying the price, some with their lives."
In 2016, opioid related deaths in Wayne County totaled 817, a 61 percent increase. Opioid related deaths in Oakland County increased 267 percent from 2009 to 2015.
"There was a concerted and tragically successful effort to get more doctors to prescribe these drugs while distorting the conversation about addiction," said Lead Counsel E. Powell Miller of the Miller Law Firm, which is representing Wayne and Oakland Counties"As communities like Oakland and Wayne County continue to shoulder the burder of this epidemic, justice demands that the companies responsible pay for the tragedy they've created."

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Other Relevant Coverage

10 recent opioid epidemic lawsuits

Oct 12, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review

By Brian Zimmerman

The following lawsuits were announced or filed since June by counties, cities and states, seeking to recover funds spent addressing widespread illicit opioid use in each community.
Plaintiffs named in the suits include drugmakers and drug distributers.
The lawsuits are listed below, beginning with the most recent.
1. Indianapolis mayor announces plans for city opioid lawsuit
Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett at an Oct. 5 press conference said the city of Indianapolis plans to sue drugmakers and distributors for their role the city's opioid crisis
2. 1st Texas county files opioid lawsuit against drugmakers, distributors
Attorneys representing Upshur County, Texas, filed a lawsuit Sept. 29 against more than a dozen drugmakers and drug distributors for their alleged role in the state's opioid epidemic.
3. Washington state, Seattle file opioid lawsuits against drugmakers
The attorneys general for Seattle and Washington state filed separate lawsuits against drugmakers Sept. 28 for the companies' alleged roles in the facilitating the opioid epidemic.
4. Tacoma, Wash., files suit against 3 drugmakers for alleged role in opioid epidemic
Attorneys for the city of Tacoma, Wash., filed a lawsuit Sept. 13 against Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions and Janssen Pharmaceuticals for allegedly providing physicians and patients with misleading information regarding the safety and efficacy of their respective opioid products.
5. Louisville files lawsuit against 3 opioid wholesalers
The Louisville Metro Government filed a lawsuit Aug. 21 against three opioid distributors, alleging they failed to disclose suspicious orders of prescription opioids to the Drug Enforcement Administration and thus contributed to the proliferation of opioids in the city.
6. Cincinnati targets 3 opioid distributors in lawsuit
The city of Cincinnati on Aug. 15 filed a lawsuit against AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson Corp. for the companies' alleged failure to report and halt suspicious orders of opioids in the community.
7. South Carolina sues Purdue over opioid marketing
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson filed suit against Purdue Pharma Aug. 15, alleging the OxyContin manufacturer conducted deceptive opioid marketing in the state.
8. New Hampshire sues OxyContin manufacturer over marketing tactics
New Hampshire filed a lawsuit against Stamford, Conn.-based Purdue Pharma LP for allegedly misleading marketing campaigns, which state officials believe fueled their current opioid epidemic.
9. Oklahoma AG files suit over opioid epidemic
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter on June 30 filed a lawsuit against drugmakers for allegedly engaging in a fraudulent opioid advertising campaign that contributed to the rising rates of opioid overdoses in the state.
10. Missouri AG sues drugmakers for fraudulent opioid advertising
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley filed a lawsuit June 21 on behalf of the state against Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions and Janssen Pharmaceuticals for allegedly engaging in fraudulent opioid advertising.

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Should drug companies pay? (EDITORIAL)

Oct 13, 2017 | Wilkes Journal-Patriot (NC)

A growing number of state and local governments are taking steps to make pharmaceutical manufacturers and drug distributors help pay for the nation’s worsening opioid crisis.
Any drug manufacturer or distributor that played an unlawful role in creating or prolonging the opioid epidemic has a legal and moral obligation to be part of the solution. This should include paying for drug addiction programs and compensating state and local governments for the huge costs they have incurred.
Authorities also need to investigate government entities with a duty to protect the public from deceptive practices involving the sale of pharmaceuticals. These include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and state regulators. In particular, the DEA has been accused of going easy on drug manufacturers.
N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein is playing a lead role in a multistate investigation that could result in lawsuits against several of these large companies. Stein and his counterparts in 40 other states want to determine if companies that have been raking in profits from opioid pain medication engaged in unlawful practices when they marketed, sold and distributed these products.
The investigation centers on whether manufacturers unlawfully misled the public about the addictive nature of opioid pain medication and if distributors fulfilled their responsibility of raising red flags when excessive amounts of the drugs were ordered. Specifically, they are investigating opioid manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Endo, Janssen, Teva/Cephalon, Allergan and related entities, as well as opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
Several city and county governments nationwide and the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma recently sued drug companies for distributing mass quantities of prescription painkillers despite their widespread abuse.
Last month in North Carolina, the Buncombe County commissioners passed a resolution saying they want to look into joining other government lawsuits against companies that make prescription opioids. The resolution stated, “Buncombe County strongly believes that it may be entitled to recovery against painkiller manufacturers and wishes to pursue recovery in the most efficient way possible. The county is willing to proceed on its own if any action or inaction by the state does not appropriately address its concerns.”
Local governments in North Carolina should wait on results of the investigation being conducted by Stein and his counterparts in 41 other states before taking any action.
Several states recently sued Purdue Pharma, accusing the company of using deceptive marketing practices related to OxyContin. About a decade ago, three Purdue Pharma executives pleaded guilty and paid a $634 million fine for OxyContin marketing that overstated the benefits of opioids for treating chronic pain.
Ohio is seeking millions of dollars to address its opioid crisis, considered among the worst in the nation, in lawsuits filed against several of the same companies being investigated by Stein and his peers. The suit claims these companies overstated benefits of chronic opioid pain therapy, targeted susceptible prescribers and vulnerable patient populations such as veterans and elderly patients and violated state anti-fraud and consumer protection laws.
In 2015, Kentucky settled with Purdue Pharma for $24 million in a suit accusing the Connecticut-based company of marketing opioid painkiller OxyContin as non-addictive because it slowly released the dose over 12 hours. However, the pills could be crushed for an instant high. Kentucky also settled with Janssen, which sold fentanyl under the name Duragesic, for $15.5 million. Purdue Pharma and Janseen didn’t admit wrongdoing as part of the settlements.
These earlier settlements, along with settlement payments made by major cigarette manufacturers after they were sued by the attorney generals in 46 states, appear to bolster cases being formulated now against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors.

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Broadcast Media Coverage

Sunrise 7

Oct 13, 2017 | WSAW CBS Wausau, WI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30085559?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
Rough transcript: the marathon county board is expected to vote tuesday on whether the county will join a proposed lawsuit to combat the opioid epidemic. lawyers argue that pharmaceutical companies know how harmful those opoids can be but still market them as 'safe. the details on how much money the counties would get and how it would be distributed across the state are still unknown. wood county has already joined the potential suit, which is similar to tobacco settlement lawsuits.

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WNEM-TV5 News

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News 8 Daybreak

Oct 13, 2017 | WOOD NBC Grand Rapids, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30085011?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
Rough transcript: leaders in wayne and oakland county are suing about a dozen drug makers and distributors.the joint lawsaut claims drug manufacturers used a strategy to shift doctor's and patient's thinking about opioids-- to get them to prescribe more. there were 817 opioid-related deaths in wayne county last year up from about 500 in 2015.

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News 10 at 4p

Oct 12, 2017 | WILX NBC Lansing, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084725?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
Rough transcript: two detroit-area counties are suing drug companies over opioids. wayne and oaklandcounties claim there is a coordinated strategy to convince doctors and patients that prescribing opioids is the best way to deal with pain. the suit accuses the companies of deceptive marketing.

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FOX2 News

Oct 12, 2017 | WJBK Fox Detroit, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084738?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
Rough transcript: the opioid crisis running rampant in metro detroit, overdose deaths are rising every day and officials are scrambling to get this epidemic under control. >> now wayne and oakland counties are teaming up and targeting drug companies directly. >> the number of prescriptions is more than the people in michigan. there are more prescriptions than people. that just blows my mine. >> cawing them greedy, deceiving. 13 drug companies companies and distributors listed on the 200 page lawsuit filed on thursday. wayne and oakland county executives along with attorney paul miller say the companies are fueling the deadly opioid epidemic. >> you hart to start somewhere. you start by holding people accountable, you start by getting the truth out there. >> accusing the companies of false advertising or deceptive marketing, prescribing opioids for chronic pain when it's not needed and down playings its addictiveness. >> there are legitimate uses for these drugs but when they became routinely prescribed for common chronic pain, that is when the explosion of these prescriptions occurred and we now have a crisis. >> the two states and wayne county opioid relate deaths increased by 61% from 2015 to 2016. and in oakland county they increased by 267%. and the profits, in 2011 pharmaceutical companies generated $11 billion just from opioid sales. >> if those statistics aren't startling enough, in oakland county alone there are enough opiods prescribed for every single person living there to have 45 pills each. >> while the crisis continues to take lives, wayne county executive warren evans says the financial consequences are major. each county paying more for law enforcement and medical care. >> the human costs and financial costs to counties is significant and we think some compensation is necessary for bad behavior. >> reporter: although no dollar amount is attached, many ask why did the suit take so long to file. >> it's the same thing as the tobacco industry you wait until the evidence is so clear. >> reporter: now they hoping the suit gathers momentum, they're welcoming macomb county to join, asking patients and doctors to come forward as well. >> were not stopping. we're going to fight this with all our heart in soul. >>

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9/10 News at 5:00

Oct 13, 2017 | WWTV CBS Traverse City, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084749?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
Rough transcript: more than a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors will now be taken to court by two michigan counties for misleading marketing and sale of opioids. the lawsuit alleges the manufacturers are using a concentrated and coordinated strategy to change the way doctors and patients think about pain and to encourage a widespread prescription use of opioids. there were 817 opioid-related deaths in wayne county in 2016 that's up from the 506 in 2015. oakland county reported a rise to 33 deaths in 2015. last week, newark, new jersey also announced it has filed lawsuits against several manufacturers.

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7 Action News at 6pm

Oct 12, 2017 | WXYZ ABC Detroit, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084816?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
Rough transcript: two counties in metro detroit are teaming up to launch a new battle in the deadly opioid crisis. wayne county executive and oakland county executives are accusing some drug companies of deceptively advertising certain opioids such as oxycontin and fentanyl. in oakland county alone last year patternson says there were 744,000 opioid prescriptions. >> for a total of 55,758,186 opioid pills, thats enoughfor every man woman and child in my county to have 45 pills each. that's the problem. >> i see it as a situation where corporations profits completely disregarding human life. >> the lawsuit alleges the companies intentionally misled doctors and patients about the appropriate use, risk and safety about opioid drugs.

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6 News at 6

Oct 12, 2017 | WLAJ ABC Lansing, MI

View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30084845?token=1a31cf70-c4c5-481e-bce7-cc04d965ead9
Rough transcript: wayne and oakland counties are taking a bold approach to fight the opioid crisis by taking pharmaceutical companies to hold them accountable for their role in the problem. two counties are suing about a dozen drug manufacturers for deceptive marketing. the lawsuit targets about a dozen companies and claims they used a concentrated and coordinated strategy to change the way that doctors and patients think about pain to encourage the wide-spread use of opioids. both counties saw a big jump in opioid-related deaths in recent years. meanwhile the city of newark new jersey announced last week that it will also sue some opioid manufacturers claiming they overstated the long-term benefits of the drugs while downplaying the risk of addiction.

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