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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 2/1/18

MDL

Opioid Judge's Settlement Push Praised by Ohio Attorney General
Feb 1, 2018 | Bloomberg
By Jef Feeley

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said he’s heartened by a federal judge’s push to kickstart settlement talks aimed at solving an opioid epidemic that is ravaging states across the U.S.
Ohio AG ‘encouraged’ by early opioid lawsuit talks
Feb 1, 2018 | Associated Press
By Mark Gillispie

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said Wednesday during the start of settlement talks for more than 250 federal lawsuits filed against pharmaceutical companies and distributors over the nation’s opioid epidemic that he’s encouraged by the judge’s understanding of the problem and commitment to achieving a resolution.
Cities, counties meet with drug companies to discuss opioid settlement
Feb 1, 2018 | CBS News
By Laura Strickler

Representatives from the country's largest opioid manufacturers and distributors met with lawyers from over 200 cities, counties and states in federal court in Cleveland on Wednesday in an attempt to hammer out a sweeping settlement of claims related to the opioid crisis. Video Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cities-counties-meet-with-drug-companies-to-discuss-opioid-settlement/
Opioid Lawsuits Negotiated In Cleveland Federal Court
Feb 1, 2018 | Ideastream
By Mark Urycki

Federal court in Cleveland was ground zero today in the fight over the costs and responsibility of the opioid crisis. Hundreds of lawsuits against drug companies and distributors may be combined in a single settlement before US District Judge Dan Polster. Representatives from both sides testified.
Settlement talks begin in Cleveland between drug companies and governments over opioid epidemic
Feb 1, 2018 | Cleveland.com (OH)
By Eric Heisig

A federal judge in Cleveland began settlement talks Wednesday that he hopes will lead to the settlement of hundreds of lawsuits filed by municipalities and government agencies against many of the major manufacturers of prescription opioids.

Baltimore, MD Suit

Baltimore sues opioid manufacturers, distributors and a local doctors' office over pain pills
Jan 31, 2018 | The Baltimore Sun (MD)
By Ian Duncan

Baltimore’s law department filed a lawsuit Wednesday against opioid manufacturers and distributors over the marketing of addictive pain pills, adding the weight of the Maryland jurisdiction hardest hit by the overdose crisis to the legal campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable.
Baltimore City files lawsuit against opioid manufactures
Feb 1, 2018 | WMAR Baltimore (MD)
By Staff

Baltimore is suing opioid manufactures and distributors for costs associated with the opioid epidemic.
Lawsuit calls out local businesses for fraudulent, reckless advertising of opioids
Feb 1, 2018 | WBAL TV (MD)
By Lowell Melser

As the opioid epidemic continues in this country, Baltimore City announced a lawsuit Wednesday against opioid manufactures, distributors and others who they say are responsible for numerous injuries and damages to the city caused by fraudulent and reckless marketing of opioids.
Baltimore To Sue Big Pharma For ‘The Harm They’ve Caused’ In Opioid Crisis
Jan 31, 2018 | CBS Baltimore (MD)
By Kimberly Eiten

Fighting a losing battle on the streets of Baltimore, city attorneys are now going to try and tackle the opioid crisis in court.
Baltimore suing opioid manufacturers, distributors
Jan 31, 2018 | The Hill
By John Bowden

The city of Baltimore will sue two drug companies as well as local businesses over the marketing of opioids, in an effort to stem the drug abuse epidemic that is killing tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Baltimore City to file lawsuit against opioid companies in state court
Jan 31, 2018 | Baltimore Business Journal (MD)
By Jonathan Munshaw

Baltimore City plans to file a lawsuit Wednesday against two opioid companies in Baltimore Circuit Court, alleging that the companies partook in fraudulent marketing practices that glossed over the potential dangers of using their drugs. The city joins a number of states and jurisdictions across the country that are going after opioid companies in court.

Northeast (PA, MA)

Law firms file suit against pharmaceutical companies, physicians on behalf of Dauphin Co.
Jan 31, 2018 | Fox43 (PA)
By Staff

Two firms have come together to file a lawsuit on behalf of Dauphin County.
'Do no harm': Dauphin County commissioners sue opioid manufacturers, doctors
Feb 1, 2018 | PennLive (PA)
By Steve Marroni

That is the cornerstone of the medical practice, and it's an oath the Dauphin County commissioners say some in the profession have violated, costing many lives and millions of dollars.
Southbridge to sue opioid makers, ban recreational pot businesses
Jan 31, 2018 | Telegram & Gazette (MA)
By Brian Lee

In the wake of 13 reported opioid overdose deaths in town in 2015 and 2016, councilors voted 7-0 this week to sue the pharmaceutical industry for the wrongful distribution of opiates and resultant damages.

Southeast (NC)

Orange County BOC votes to join massive lawsuit against opioid distributors
Feb 1, 2018 | The Daily Tar Heel (NC)
By Karlton Tate

The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted last week to join over 200 governments nationwide in suing opioid manufacturing and distribution companies.
Orange County Joins National Litigation Against Opioid Manufacturers and Distributers
Jan 31, 2018 | WCHL (NC)
By Daniel Ocampo

The Orange County Board of Commissioners has joined in on current national litigation regarding the opioid epidemic after a briefing on the subject at a meeting last week.

Midwest (IN)

Several Hamilton County towns join lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors
Feb 1, 2018 | WISHTV (IN)
By Brittany Lewis

A growing number of cities and counties in Indiana are suing opioid manufacturers and distributors, including several in Hamilton County.

West (CO)

Colorado county 1st in state to file opioid lawsuit against drug companies
Jan 31, 2018 | Becker's Hospital Review
By Brian Zimmerman

Attorneys on behalf of Huerfano County filed a lawsuit Sunday against drugmakers and distributors for allegedly contributing to the county's opioid crisis, marking the first such lawsuit filed by a local government in Colorado, according to a report from The Denver Post.

Northwest (WA)

Another Washington county sues drugmakers over opioid crisis
Jan 31, 2018 | Associated Press
By Staff

Clallam County is joining more than 200 other litigants in suing opioid makers and wholesale distributors for damages over prescription opioids.

Commentary and FYIs

Balkman appoints judicial master in state opioid case
Feb 1, 2018 | Norman Transcript (OK)
By Jacob McGuire

Cleveland County Judge Thad Balkman has appointed a judicial master to the Oklahoma Attorney General's lawsuit against several opioid manufacturers. With the decision, disputes involving evidence in the case shouldn’t keep the case from moving forward.
OPIOID EPIDEMIC SHATTERS DRUG STEREOTYPES
Feb 1, 2018 | The Anchor (MI)
By Sophia Vander Kooy

The amount of Americans that have to google the word “opioid” to find out what exactly this class of drugs includes is decreasing as the addiction epidemic across the U.S. rapidly filters into more neighborhoods, schools and towns. As reported by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of opioid-related overdoses in 2016 was 5 times higher than in 1999. As this number continues to grow, the CDC estimates that about 115 Americans die of an opioid overdose every single day. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that between 24.6 million and 36 million people worldwide are opioid users. As the numbers continue to morph into personal stories of neighbors, classmates, friends and family who have fallen into opioid usage, NGOs and government officials alike are panicking to find any stable solution.
Attorneys general "making progress" on opioids probe, Shapiro says
Feb 1, 2018 | The Morning Call (PA)
By Paul Muschik

Progress is being made in a nationwide probe of prescription opioids manufacturers and distributors, with investigators finding "things of great interest" in subpoenaed documents, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Wednesday during a wide-ranging interview with Morning Call reporters and editors in Allentown.
Can Unit-Dose Packaging Reduce Opioid Abuse?
Jan 31, 2018 | HealthcarePackaging
By Jim Butschli

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb addressed the ongoing opioid issue in a Jan. 30 statement outlining steps to help prevent new addiction, curb abuse and overdoses related to opioid products.
Will Wayne County join those filing lawsuits against opioid industry?
Jan 31, 2018 | Palladium Item (IN)
By Jason Truitt

In recent months, communities across the country that have been hit hard by the opioid abuse epidemic have filed a series of lawsuits against the makers and distributors of the drugs.
Democratic senators want an official investigation into Trump’s weak response to the opioid crisis (EDITORIAL)
Jan 31, 2018 | Vox
By German Lopez

A group of Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), are asking the Government Accountability Office to investigate the Trump administration’s response to the opioid epidemic.

Broadcast Media Coverage

FOX and Friends
Feb 1, 2018 | Fox News
By National Programming

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32370790?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
ABC2 News Good Morning Maryland 4:30AM
Feb 1, 2018 | WMAR (ABC)
By Baltimore, MD

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32371055?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
FOX 45 Late Edition
Feb 1, 2018 | WBFF (FOX)
By Baltimore, MD

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32371060?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
ABC27 News
Jan 31, 2018 | WHTM (ABC)
By Harrisburg, PA

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32370777?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
CBS 21 Morning News
Feb 1, 2018 | WHP (CBS)
By Harrisburg, PA

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32371033?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
Eyewitness News Daybreak 5:00
Feb 1, 2018 | WSOC (ABC)
By Charlotte, NC

Video LInk: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32371040?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
24-Hour News 8's Daybreak at 7AM
Feb 1, 2018 | WISH (CW)
By Indianapolis, IN

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32370797?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331

MDL

Opioid Judge's Settlement Push Praised by Ohio Attorney General

Feb 1, 2018 | Bloomberg

By Jef Feeley

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said he’s heartened by a federal judge’s push to kickstart settlement talks aimed at solving an opioid epidemic that is ravaging states across the U.S.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Polster in Cleveland is “dead serious’’ about coming up with ways to address treatment and policing issues as part of a comprehensive settlement aimed at resolving more than 200 lawsuits stemming from the crisis, DeWine told reporters. “He’s going at this very methodically.’’
DeWine and attorneys general from five other states Wednesday briefed Polster on the problems painkiller addictions are causing state and local governments.
DeWine wouldn’t say how much compensation he wants from pharmaceutical companies and distributors to address the crisis in his state, but noted a study from Ohio State University said opioids were costing the Buckeye State as much as $8 billion a year.

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Ohio AG ‘encouraged’ by early opioid lawsuit talks

Feb 1, 2018 | Associated Press

By Mark Gillispie

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said Wednesday during the start of settlement talks for more than 250 federal lawsuits filed against pharmaceutical companies and distributors over the nation’s opioid epidemic that he’s encouraged by the judge’s understanding of the problem and commitment to achieving a resolution.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland has been assigned to oversee what many plaintiffs hope will be a global settlement with the pharmaceutical industry that would also encompass lawsuits filed in state courts. Comparisons are being made to the 1998 lawsuit settlement against tobacco companies that resulted in an agreement to pay $206 billion to 46 states over a 25-year period.
Six state attorneys general, representatives from numerous states and dozens of attorneys from both sides made presentations and answered Polster’s questions in a courtroom closed to the public and the media.
DeWine, a Republican candidate for governor in 2018, had been asked by Polster to speak on behalf of attorneys general in other states that have filed state court lawsuits against the industry.
Polster has called the epidemic “100 percent man-made” and has said other branches of government have “punted” on solving it.
“He’s dead serious about getting something resolved,” DeWine later told reporters. “I’m very encouraged.”
Asked if he heard anything hopeful from the industry’s attorneys, DeWine said, “I didn’t expect to be encouraged by their side.”
Industry attorneys approached outside the courtroom declined to be interviewed.
Communities across the country have been ravaged by an epidemic that involves highly addictive painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin, their generic equivalents and deadly street drugs like fentanyl and heroin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said 42,000 people died of opioid overdoses in 2016, a number that’s expected to climb even higher once 2017 deaths are tallied later this year.
In addition to DeWine, attorneys general from Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia attended the settlement talks. It wasn’t clear how many representatives from other states were in Polster’s courtroom.
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said Wednesday that efforts to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for the damage they’ve wrought is a bipartisan effort.
Beshear and DeWine said massive amounts of money are needed to deal with an epidemic that is costing their states billions of dollars a year. They said money is needed to pay for drug treatment and education and to buttress social service and law enforcement agencies serving on the front lines of the epidemic.
Beshear said his hope is to see multinational corporations that have made billions of dollars selling painkillers become part of the solution.
“If you call yourself a health care company, and not simply a for-profit corporation, you should be willing to do that,” Beshear said.

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Cities, counties meet with drug companies to discuss opioid settlement

Feb 1, 2018 | CBS News

By Laura Strickler

Representatives from the country's largest opioid manufacturers and distributors met with lawyers from over 200 cities, counties and states in federal court in Cleveland on Wednesday in an attempt to hammer out a sweeping settlement of claims related to the opioid crisis.
Video Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cities-counties-meet-with-drug-companies-to-discuss-opioid-settlement/
Federal District Judge Daniel Polster is overseeing an ambitious effort to resolve the cases brought by cities and counties against the pharmaceutical industry. The municipalities want drug companies like Purdue Pharma to pay for damages stemming from the opioid epidemic that has ravaged communities across the country.
A source familiar with the talks said there were no major breakthroughs in Wednesday's initial discussions. Polster is expected to provide an update on the status of the negotiations within the next few days.
Attendees at the talks included Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, whose state is among those hardest hit by the opioid crisis. In May, DeWine sued the five largest opioid manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, claiming their "fraudulent marketing" of opioids fueled the crisis.
The talks in Cleveland are just the latest attempt to reach a large settlement over responsibility for the opioid crisis.
A group of at least 35 state attorneys general known as the "multi-state" has been meeting with opioid manufacturers and distributors since last year, trying to make headway in negotiations, according to people familiar with the discussions. The group met as recently as mid-December in Chicago at the firm of one of Purdue Pharma's lead attorneys, former federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
In a letter to DeWine in November, Purdue Pharma's general counsel Maria Barton characterized the "multi-state" talks as happening on an "expedited basis."
However, CBS News has learned that the talks have so far not been fruitful, with some state attorneys general growing increasingly impatient. Since May 2017, 11 states withdrew from the "multi-state" group to file lawsuits directly against the companies. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi recently said she was hiring an outside firm to explore litigation.
The attorneys general and the outside law firms advising them are confident that the drug companies would be pressured to enter into more serious negotiations if 20 to 25 states file suit against them, sources involved with the lawsuits tell CBS News.
Meanwhile, the total number of cases against the companies grows almost daily as more municipalities file suits. New York City is one of the latest to do so, arguing the companies owe the city $500 million for damages stemming from the opioid crisis.
"Big Pharma has been getting away with bloody murder," Mayor Bill de Blasio said last week.
The Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma made at least $35 billion in revenue from sales of the painkiller Oxycontin, which a spokesperson says represents less than 2 percent of the opioid market share. The spokesperson said the company is "deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and we are committed to working collaboratively with industry, policy makers and all other stakeholders to help solve this public health challenge."
In court documents, Polster had called Wednesday's meeting in Cleveland "the first of many opportunities" for the stakeholders to meet and try to hammer out a solution.

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Opioid Lawsuits Negotiated In Cleveland Federal Court

Feb 1, 2018 | Ideastream

By Mark Urycki

Federal court in Cleveland was ground zero today in the fight over the costs and responsibility of the opioid crisis. Hundreds of lawsuits against drug companies and distributors may be combined in a single settlement before US District Judge Dan Polster. Representatives from both sides testified.
Plaintiffs' lawyers asked Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish to testify on behalf of cities and counties in the case.
He said afterward outside the court that in his own testimony he wanted to make clear that costs will grow.
“We have people who are addicted who right now are not costing taxpayers money but may in the future,” said Budish. “And so if we’re talking about a settlement, we don’t want to settle something today and then have huge costs for the next 5 or 10 years that we haven’t addressed.”
Budish said more than 2,100 children and teens are in temporary or permanent custody of the County as a result of the opioid crisis and there is increased demand at the jail, and at the morgue.
Budish said he thought the negotiations made progress, particularly in addressing the ongoing epidemic.
“There’s certainly some areas of disagreement over who’s responsible and how, but everybody is trying to work together at this point, I believe, to figure out something to at least stop this from going forward,” said Budish.
He said the two sides have formed committees to work through short term and long term solutions and will meet again on March 6th.
--------------Armond Budish's statement for the court ----------
The solution to this epidemic lies not only with curtailing and limiting the manufacture and distribution of opioids but also addressing the needs of all those who suffer from opioid addiction and the financial impact of that addiction on local government. This year alone in Cuyahoga County more than 80,000 people are fighting for their life due to opioid addiction. The numbers of people impacted by addiction in Cuyahoga County have impacted the County in a multitude of ways.
In 2017 alone, the Medical Examiner’s Office saw an increase in operational costs due to opioid related deaths of 1.54 million dollars. The cost to the Sheriff’s Department for housing inmates identified as opioid users in 2017 totaled more than 19 million dollars. Seven Thousand Eight Hundred inmates were identified as opioid users in the jail last year. The costs to Health and Human Services in our County due to the opioid crisis has been extensive. In 2016 alone the County’s Health and Human Services Department was faced with 483 cases of drug-exposed babies. That number grew to 535 in 2017. More than 2,100 children and teens are in temporary or permanent custody of the County. Sadly this increase in need is becoming more difficult to serve due to a declining number of foster homes and in-network foster homes.
I want to thank this Court for undertaking the difficult task of seeking resolution to this litigation in a way that prevents more needless loss of life and helps local government to obtain the resources necessary to combat this crisis.

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Settlement talks begin in Cleveland between drug companies and governments over opioid epidemic

Feb 1, 2018 | Cleveland.com (OH)

By Eric Heisig

A federal judge in Cleveland began settlement talks Wednesday that he hopes will lead to the settlement of hundreds of lawsuits filed by municipalities and government agencies against many of the major manufacturers of prescription opioids.
States and local governments filed suits against Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and other companies accusing them of misleading doctors and consumers about the addictive nature of opioids like OxyContin. The suits, which are still being filed, come amidst an opioid crisis that killed users in every corner of the country.
Lawyers from both sides will return to the federal courthouse in Cleveland on March 6 to continue discussions, according to those involved in Wednesday's proceedings.
Many of the cases were consolidated under U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, who has signaled that he wants to see a settlement that includes several of the federal lawsuits he oversees and others over which he has no jurisdiction. Polster's goal is to have money go toward treatment and to have doctors prescribe fewer opioids.
Ohio and Cuyahoga County are among the government bodies to file suits. Polster is overseeing Cuyahoga County's lawsuit, which was consolidated with other federal cases from across the country.
Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish attended the proceedings and said that settlement amounts were not part of Wednesday's discussions.
Ohio's lawsuit is not part of the litigation combined and being heard under Polster and is instead presided over by a judge in Ross County. However, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine was present because Polster's proposal to settle would include Ohio's case.
Informational sessions and talks took place throughout Wednesday, filling multiple courtrooms with more than 100 attorneys and representatives from both sides. All of the sessions were closed to the public.
DeWine, who is running for governor, said he believes a settlement through Polster's efforts is "the best opportunity that we're going to have" for the state to receive money from drug distributors and manufacturers.
While he believes a jury would rule in the state's favor and issue a "very large verdict," DeWine said any payout by drug companies would be held up by appeals.
And while he has held settlement talks with some drug companies, DeWine said Purdue Pharma -- one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies -- was unwilling to negotiate with his office.
A Purdue Pharma spokesman responded Wednesday evening by forwarding a letter the company's general counsel sent to DeWine in November that urged the attorney general's participation in an ongoing multistate investigation into the opioid epidemic.
When asked how much it would take to combat Ohio's problem, DeWine demurred, but noted that an Ohio State University study said it affected the state to upwards of $8 billion a year.
The hundreds of lawsuits allege that drug manufacturers overstated the benefits and downplayed the risks of addiction when treating pain with opioids, and that distributors failed to properly monitor suspicious orders of prescription painkillers.
Polster, who has a reputation for trying to resolve cases, told attorneys at the first hearing on Jan. 9that he would like to see a settlement this year.
Budish, who attended the proceedings to tell the judge about the epidemic's local impact to the county's Medical Examiner's Office, Sheriff's Department and Health and Human Services, said he felt progress was made, even if there are some disagreements between the defendants and plaintiffs.
"I think everybody recognizes that there's an epidemic here," Budish said outside the courthouse. "Everybody recognizes there are tragedies happening every day."
He expressed optimism that a settlement can be reached to fight the epidemic in the short and long terms.
DeWine said he too is optimistic but added that he did not know "what is occurring in that room right now," referring to a courtroom filled with attorneys for pharmaceutical companies.
He said he had confidence in the judge, a Bill Clinton appointee whom DeWine voted to put on the bench in 1998, when he served in the U.S. Senate.
"This is very unusual for a federal judge, early in a case, to pull people in together and say 'let's try to reach a settlement,'" DeWine said. "He gets what's going on."

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Baltimore, MD Suit

Baltimore sues opioid manufacturers, distributors and a local doctors' office over pain pills

Jan 31, 2018 | The Baltimore Sun (MD)

By Ian Duncan

Baltimore’s law department filed a lawsuit Wednesday against opioid manufacturers and distributors over the marketing of addictive pain pills, adding the weight of the Maryland jurisdiction hardest hit by the overdose crisis to the legal campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable.
In announcing the lawsuit, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court, City Solicitor Andre Davis said he would personally be part of the team handling the case. Davis, a former federal judge, said the companies marketed the pills knowing they would be “destructive of lives.”
“They were reckless, they were intentional, it was marketing, it was greed,” Davis said.
More than 3,000 people have died of opioid overdoses in Baltimore since 2007 — 523 of them between January and September of last year. The crisis, which has worsened as more drug users are exposed to the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl, shows no sign of easing.
Several counties in Maryland and jurisdictions across the country have brought similar cases. Anne Arundel County filed a lawsuit in state court, and Cecil County filed one in federal court. Baltimore County is preparing a suit — the County Council will vote Monday on a contract to hire a private law firm with the goal of joining federal litigation in Ohio.
Gov. Larry Hogan has authorized Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh to bring a case for the state. Frosh says he is investigating but has too few resources to tackle the full scope of the overdose crisis.
Baltimore is asking the court to order drug companies to change how they do business. Davis said any money won by the city would go into municipal coffers as recompense for the policing and health costs associated with addiction and overdoses.
The city alleges that the drug manufacturers have funded unscrupulous research that led to biased findings about the dangers of opioid pills and spread false information to doctors and consumers. The city accuses distributors of failing to properly report suspicious pill orders as required under federal and Maryland law.
The city’s lawyers say the result was an overdose epidemic in which Baltimore is one of the hardest-hit places in the nation.
The companies targeted in the case “bear significant responsibility for the epidemic of substance abuse and death that has devastated much of the country.”
The city names as defendants the drugmakers Purdue, Cephalon, Janssen, Actavis and Endo Health Solutions and distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.
Reached for comment Wednesday, representatives of the drug firms denied any wrongdoing. They said the companies are committed to making sure that the pills they make or distribute are used safely.
Unusually, the city also named two doctors who operate a pain clinic with locations in Towson and Owings Mills. The city alleges that the clinic was a “pill mill” — an operation that “prescribers controlled dangerous substances without a legitimate medical purpose.”
Dr. Norman B. Rosen, one of the doctors, denied the allegations. He called the claim that he was running a pill mill “absolutely ridiculous.”
While Rosen was on the phone with a Baltimore Sun reporter Wednesday, a television news crew showed up at his office. He called his colleague, Dr. Howard Hoffberg, to brief him.
“People want a fight, I’ll give them a fight,” Rosen said.
Hoffberg, reached later, said his lawyers had told him not to make any comment on the case.
“I’m not in any way trying to hide,” he said.
At its heart, the case revolves around how dangerous prescription opioids are, and what people involved in supplying them to the public knew about the risks.
Rosen said the number of overdose deaths is low when compared to the number of prescriptions written, and that limiting the supply of the pills would hurt people who need help treating their pain.
“The whole opioid crisis is overstated,” Rosen said.
When OxyContin, one of the brands of pills, hit the market in the mid-1990s, studies have found, it was marketed as not especially addictive. But for many patients that turned out not to be true.
Relatively few deaths are attributed directly to overdoses of prescription pain pills. But the widespread practice of prescribing the drugs has been blamed for turning patients into opioid addicts, leaving them vulnerable to heroin and its powerful additive fentanyl.
The chances that the city and other jurisdictions have of succeeding in court remains unclear.
Earlier rounds of personal-injury lawsuits have found little success. Drug companies have been able to argue that individual patients didn’t use the pills properly, or laid responsibility to the doctors who wrote the prescriptions and the regulators who signed off on the drugs.
Rebecca Haffajee, who teaches law and public health at Michigan State University, says the cities and counties now suing might have more success. They have the resources to take on a long fight in court, and might be able to uncover evidence that manufacturers knowingly minimized the dangers of the pills.
“We’ve seen a number of settlements that are increasing in frequency,” she said.
And while some jurisdictions might be willing to settle cases for cash payments, others could be motivated to see a case through to trial.
“Many are quite aggressive and do want to publicly hold these companies accountable beyond the money,” Haffajee said.

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Baltimore City files lawsuit against opioid manufactures

Feb 1, 2018 | WMAR Baltimore (MD)

By Staff

Baltimore is suing opioid manufactures and distributors for costs associated with the opioid epidemic.
City Solicitor Andrew Davis announced the lawsuit, which was filed in state circuit court on Wednesday, at the mayor's weekly press conference.
The suit claims the opioid manufactures and companies misled patients about the dangers of their products.
"They were reckless, they were intentional," Davis said. "It was marketing, it was greed and we're going to try to hold them accountable for the harm that they've caused to Baltimore city."
The city is seeking reimbursement for funds spent on helping people who have overdosed in the city in past years.

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Lawsuit calls out local businesses for fraudulent, reckless advertising of opioids

Feb 1, 2018 | WBAL TV (MD)

By Lowell Melser

As the opioid epidemic continues in this country, Baltimore City announced a lawsuit Wednesday against opioid manufactures, distributors and others who they say are responsible for numerous injuries and damages to the city caused by fraudulent and reckless marketing of opioids.
The 105-page lawsuit names more than a dozen drug manufacturers and third party distributors, with Purdue Pharma at the top of the list. A pain management clinic in Towson was also named with the city solicitor calling it a pill mill.
The lawsuit has been filed in Circuit Court.
"The allegation is that they knowingly marketed opioids in ways that they knew were harmful. They knew would be distractive of lives. They knew would create addictive cravings and the consequences that flow from that," said Baltimore City solicitor Andre Davis.
Davis is leading the charge, alleging manufacturers precipitated the current epidemic by spending billions of dollars to market their products as safe with little to no risk of addiction.
"They were reckless. They were intentional. It was marketing. It was greed, and we're going to try to hold them accountable for the harm that they've caused to Baltimore City," Davis said.
Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management Associates in Towson, mentioned in the lawsuit as a defendant, claims the facility operated as a pill mill to serve the addicts that the manufacturers marketed to.
Dr. Norman Rosen of the clinic said "I have been doing this for 42 years. We are an integrated multi-disciplinary rehab and pain management clinic that takes on high risk patients. We deal with addiction and where other facilities have failed our patients when it comes to pain management," Davis said.
The city said it is hoping to put a stop to the marketing practices and distribution, and cash in.
"The money would go into the general fund of the city and reimburse us for many of the expenses we've incurred, both through the Police Department activities, health department activities, as self-insured employees and others beneficiaries of city employees," Davis said.

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Baltimore To Sue Big Pharma For ‘The Harm They’ve Caused’ In Opioid Crisis

Jan 31, 2018 | CBS Baltimore (MD)

By Kimberly Eiten

Fighting a losing battle on the streets of Baltimore, city attorneys are now going to try and tackle the opioid crisis in court.
Baltimore City attorneys are setting the stage for a court battle against Big Pharma.
It was announced Wednesday that Baltimore will sue drug makers for their roles in the ongoing opioid crisis
Illegal drugs top the list of killers in Baltimore, and city attorneys want Big Pharma to pay the costs of fighting the opioid crisis.
In the first nine months of 2017 alone, opioids killed more than 1,500 people in Maryland, and left a trail of nearly 600 bodies on the streets of Baltimore.
“There are more people dying from overdose here in Baltimore City, than there are dying of homicide,” said Baltimore Commissioner Of Health Dr. Leana Wen.
Now, city attorneys want the drug makers who sell these quiet killers to answer in court.
“They were reckless. They were intentional. It was marketing, it was greed, and we’re going to try and hold them accountable for the harm they’ve caused to Baltimore City,” said city solicitor Andre Davis.
Davis announced Wednesday that he will file a lawsuit saying manufacturers and distributors of dangerous drugs have devastated Baltimore, and in the process, stuck the city with a big tab for things like law enforcement and health department initiatives aimed at fighting the epidemic.
“In one way or another, the city pays for every prescription,” Davis said.
The big name defendant in the case is Purdue Pharma.
On the homepage of the company’s website, there is a link to a letter addressing the opioid crisis, but Davis says he’s going after everyone, from leaders in the drug industry, to local pill mills.
He says they are all dangerous, and they’re all damaging.
“To the city, to the people of the city, to the financial well being of the city,” Davis said.
If the city wins, any money would go into the general fund, and then be used to pay back police, the health department, and other departments tapped financially to fight the crisis.
The lawsuit will be filed in state circuit court, and city attorneys say they will fight to keep it there.

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Baltimore suing opioid manufacturers, distributors

Jan 31, 2018 | The Hill

By John Bowden

The city of Baltimore will sue two drug companies as well as local businesses over the marketing of opioids, in an effort to stem the drug abuse epidemic that is killing tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Baltimore City Solicitor Andre Davis announced the lawsuits Wednesday and said the companies marketed opioids knowing that the high number of pills would be “destructive of lives," the Baltimore Sun reports.
“They were reckless. They were intentional. It was marketing; it was greed,” Davis said at a press conference.
The city's lawsuit targets drug manufacturer Purdue and distributor McKessen, as well as local businesses that city officials describe as "pill mills."
Davis said any damages won in the lawsuit would be used by the city to alleviate the rising police and health care costs associated with the opioid epidemic.
The Sun reports that 523 fatal opioid overdoses occurred in the city between January and September of last year.
Baltimore's lawsuit follows one filed by New York City last week against eight companies that make or distribute prescription opioids, including the two companies targeted by Baltimore's suit. New York saw more than 1,000 fatal overdoses due to opioids in 2016.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) has accused pharmaceutical companies of deceptive marketing.
“Big Pharma helped to fuel this epidemic by deceptively peddling these dangerous drugs and hooking millions of Americans in exchange for profit,” de Blasio said in a statement last week. “It’s time to hold the companies accountable for what they’ve done to our City, and help save more lives.”

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Baltimore City to file lawsuit against opioid companies in state court

Jan 31, 2018 | Baltimore Business Journal (MD)

By Jonathan Munshaw

Baltimore City plans to file a lawsuit Wednesday against two opioid companies in Baltimore Circuit Court, alleging that the companies partook in fraudulent marketing practices that glossed over the potential dangers of using their drugs. The city joins a number of states and jurisdictions across the country that are going after opioid companies in court.
Baltimore City Solicitor Andre M. Davis announced the lawsuit during Mayor Catherine Pugh's weekly press conference, and said he expected the suit to be formally filed by noon Wednesday.
The lawsuit alleges that two pharmaceutical companies, San Francisco-based McKesson Corp. — a distributor of pharmaceutical products, and Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma — the producer of OxyContin, misled patients about the dangers of their products through what Davis said were illicit marketing tactics.
Several local distributors will also be included in the lawsuit, Davis said, but he declined to give specific names. The city is seeking an immediate injunction to the marketing of opioids made by the two companies, Davis said, as well as an undisclosed monetary amount that would be put into the city's general fund to pay for past years of service from the police and health departments to assist citizens who overdosed on opioids.
A spokeswoman from McKesson said the company does not have a comment on the lawsuit at this time. Representatives from Purdue could not be reached for comment.
Baltimore City experienced 523 overdoses related to opioids between January and September of 2017, according to data recently released from the Maryland Health Department, an 18 percent increase from the same period the year before. There were 1,501 opioid-related deaths throughout the state during that same time period.
Davis said he was looking to hold opioid makers and distributors accountable "to the harm to Baltimore City of all kinds."
"They knowingly marketed opioids that they knew were harmful, knew were destructive in lives," he said.
Baltimore will be the latest jurisdiction in Maryland that has gone after Purdue, McKesson and other opioid makers in court.
Earlier this month Anne Arundel County filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Percocet; Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Insys Therapeutics. Baltimore County also announced a similar lawsuit earlier this month, and Carroll County filed one back in September.
States have also gone after these companies, with lawsuits coming in the past year from Washington state, Kentucky and Delaware, among others.
Bloomberg reported in November that Purdue Pharma may be exploring a global settlement with the bevy of lawsuits it faces.

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Northeast (PA, MA)

Law firms file suit against pharmaceutical companies, physicians on behalf of Dauphin Co.

Jan 31, 2018 | Fox43 (PA)

By Staff

Two firms have come together to file a lawsuit on behalf of Dauphin County.
Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the nation's largest law firms focused on consumer protection and mass tort actions, and Young Ricchiuti Caldwell & Heller, a Philadelphia-based firm that advocates for victims of catastrophic injuries, are suing pharmaceutical companies and physicians over the marketing of prescription opioid painkillers.
The complaint, filed in Pennsylvania state court, notes that Dauphin County seeks relief, compensatory and punitive damages, for the millions of dollars it spends each year to combat the crisis created by drug companies’ deceptive marketing campaign that misrepresents the safety and efficacy of long-term opioid use, the release states.
“Dauphin County, like many other counties in the state and across the country, has been deeply and negatively affected by the opioid epidemic that has infiltrated their community,” said Simmons Hanly Conroy Shareholder Paul J. Hanly, Jr., lead co-counsel for the county in this case. “The crisis isn’t new. Opioid abuse and addiction continues to cause incredible, long-lasting damage for families across Dauphin County and is straining county resources every day. Together, with county leaders, we will seek justice for the residents of Dauphin County.”
The lawsuit alleges the defendants sought to create a false perception in the minds of physicians, patients, health care providers and health care payors that using opioids to treat chronic pain was safe for most patients and that the drugs’ benefits outweighed the risks, according to the release.
“This lawsuit is about making these companies accountable and forcing them to help solve the tragedy they created,’’ said Commissioner Mike Pries. “Taxpayers should not be the ones paying the price for the damage caused by big pharma.’’
The defendants in the lawsuit are: Purdue Pharma L.P.; Purdue Pharma, Inc.; The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.; Cephalon, Inc.; Johnson& Johnson; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc.; Endo Health Solutions Inc.; Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Dr. Perry Fine; Dr. Scott Fishman; and Dr. Lynn Webster.

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'Do no harm': Dauphin County commissioners sue opioid manufacturers, doctors

Feb 1, 2018 | PennLive (PA)

By Steve Marroni

That is the cornerstone of the medical practice, and it's an oath the Dauphin County commissioners say some in the profession have violated, costing many lives and millions of dollars.
The commissioners announced today they have filed a lawsuit against 11 drug manufacturers and three doctors they say ignored the addictive and debilitating effects of opioids and aggressively marketed the painkillers to make a profit.
They hired the law firm of Young, Ricchiuti, Caldwell & Heller from Philadelphia to file the suit on a contingency basis, meaning the firm will fund all upfront costs of litigation and only receive payment upon successful resolution, county officials say.
Commissioner Jeff Haste said the county has contemplated this action for some time and held a series of town hall meetings, hearing gut-wrenching stories from recovering addicts and family members. Many in law enforcement, government, and the medical and treatment professions have joined forces to fight the epidemic, he said, except for one group.
Those named in the suit.
"Everybody seemed to be coming to the table to try to fight this drug-addiction problem," Haste said. "The folks who were still not at the table were the manufacturers, and in some cases doctors."
The suit, filed in Dauphin County Court, names the following drug manufacturers:Purdue Pharma LP,Purdue Pharma Inc.,The Purdue Frederick Company Inc,Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc,Cephalon Inc,Johnson & Johnson,Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc,Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmacueticals Inc,Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc,Endo Health Solutions Inc,And Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc,
And it names the doctors:Perry Fine, of Utah,Lynn Webster, of Utah,And Scott Fishman, of California.
All three were instrumental in promoting opioids for sale nationally and in Dauphin County, the suit states.
Haste pointed out that none of the doctors sued were from Dauphin County, or even Pennsylvania, which he was pleased to see.
But the real reason behind filing the suit comes down to one simple thing.
"To save lives," Haste said.
The county saw 102 overdose deaths in 2017, which is up from 85 in 2016.
"With the horrendous human toll comes increasing costs to counties, which not only provide drug and alcohol treatment and prevention services but also handle child welfare, corrections and court cases," Commissioner Mike Pries added.
Dauphin County spent $19.6 million to help 2,859 people suffering from addiction - an 860 percent increase in treatment dollars and a 400 percent increase in the number of those seeking help from five years ago, county officials say.
All recovered money will go toward paying for drug abuse treatment and prevention programs within the county.
"Making treatment readily accessible is the only way we are going to turn the tide, and we need the drug companies to start helping to pay for that treatment instead of forcing taxpayers alone to foot the bill," Commissioner George P. Hartick III said.
Sixteen counties in Pennsylvania have filed similar suits, including York and Franklin counties.
Dauphin County's suit is seeking a jury trial. It alleges the named defendants knew the addiction that comes with long-term opioid use, but misrepresented the dangers, minimized the risk, and encouraged the use of the drugs.
The defendants actions have cost billions nationwide and millions in Dauphin County for treatment, law enforcement, medical care, homeless services, children and youth services and more, according to the suit.
In the suit, the county is seeking an unspecified amount of damages, but asks the court to award "an amount sufficient to fairly and completely compensate the county."
They are also asking for the judge to require the manufacturers to "abate the public health nuisance."

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Southbridge to sue opioid makers, ban recreational pot businesses

Jan 31, 2018 | Telegram & Gazette (MA)

By Brian Lee

In the wake of 13 reported opioid overdose deaths in town in 2015 and 2016, councilors voted 7-0 this week to sue the pharmaceutical industry for the wrongful distribution of opiates and resultant damages.
In another drug matter, town councilors approved of the third and final reading of a bylaw banning all types of adult-use recreational marijuana businesses from locating here.
However, George Steeves, vice chairman of the Town Council and the lone dissenter in a 6-1 vote on Monday, suggested the town should be open to welcoming marijuana businesses, despite of the results of four local ballot questions in June that favored a prohibition.
Regarding illicit opioid use, Southbridge will file mass tort litigation through the Massachusetts Opioid Litigation Attorneys, a consortium of lawyers suing the pharmaceutical industry on behalf of individual municipalities.
Civil cases are being filed throughout the country, on the claim that the industry minimized the dangers of opioids and deluged the market. The cases are being consolidated in multidistrict litigation in Ohio, according to MOLA. A few bellwether cases will be tried before others, the consortium said.
Greenfield was the first community in Massachusetts to sue, while Quincy was the first city to do so, according to media reports. Charlton is also suing.
Town Manager Ronald San Angelo told the council that people often hear of drugs entering the U.S. illegally from south of the border.
But these drugs, he said, are moving into the marketplace through overprescription from doctors. He faulted the manufacturers and distributors for marketing the product, initially as non-addictive, to doctors.
“We’re watching people die as a result of overdoses and it’s horrendous what we’re seeing in the streets,” the manager said.
There’s no upfront cost to communities that are suing through the MOLA, and cities and towns will have the right to reject any settlement offer, MOLA said. Communities could receive up to 50 percent of any individual settlement offer.
Chairwoman Denise Clemence said opioids’ impact on the town have been severe.
“We certainly stand to gain something, should everybody see reason to it,” she said.
If the case is settled, according to the manager, the results will be more beneficial to cities and towns than were the fruits of similar litigation against tobacco giants during the 1990s, when money was funneled to cities and towns through a state general fund.
Meanwhile, the council voted 6-1 to add a chapter to its bylaws banning recreational marijuana establishments.
In June, town voters prohibited retail, cultivation, testing facilities and product manufacturers in four separate questions.
But that outcome contradicted the results of the statewide referendum in November 2016, when Southbridge voters approved of regulating marijuana like alcohol, 3,801 to 3,013.
Mr. Steeves said the council should support the November outcome because it resulted in a much stronger turnout.
He suggested that the June ballot questions “confused some people” because the questions asked: Shall the town prohibit marijuana businesses? Mr. Steeves said it was “one of those weird reverse questions.”
The councilman then tied the marijuana matter to the opioid lawsuit. He said there’s evidence suggesting there are fewer opioid addictions in states where marijuana is legal, and that marijuana use can help people get off opioids. He did not cite a source, but said both claims were worth investigating.
Councilor Monique Manna disagreed. She said the local ballot questions on marijuana were vetted in the council’s general government subcommittee and were subsequently approved by the state. She said it was up to the voter to read and understand them.
Mrs. Manna also called it “inappropriate” for Mr. Steeves to meld the opioid and marijuana topics.
Although Councilor Marc DiPietro agreed that the local ballot questions could have been worded better, he said, “We can’t bring things back to table because we don’t like the outcome.”

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Southeast (NC)

Orange County BOC votes to join massive lawsuit against opioid distributors

Feb 1, 2018 | The Daily Tar Heel (NC)

By Karlton Tate

The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted last week to join over 200 governments nationwide in suing opioid manufacturing and distribution companies.
In the board meeting last week, an attorney from the McHugh Fuller Law Group, who is representing Orange County, gave a presentation to the commissioners on the state of the opioid crisis in North Carolina.
The lawsuit will primarily target three of the nation’s largest opioid distributors — Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson Corp. — to determine if the companies have been negligent in reporting suspicious orders and activities to the Drug Enforcement Administration. According to the law group, drug manufacturers and distributors are required to report suspicious activity by the Controlled Substances Act.
Although opioid related deaths and overdoses in Orange County are lower than the national average, Orange County Commissioner Penny Rich said the crisis is still greatly impacting the county.
“It is a problem, it’s a growing problem, and the whole idea (with the lawsuit) is to try and get this under control,” Rich said. “(The opioid distributors) are putting a burden on our counties, on our health department, on our social services, on our sheriff's department, and it's costly.”
The Orange County Health Department identified that opioid overdose deaths were concentrated in Hillsborough. Between 2009 and 2013, 26 percent of Orange County’s opioid-related deaths came from Hillsborough, even though the town only makes up five percent of the county’s population.
To address the opioid crisis, Orange County paramedics as well as law enforcement have been trained to carry and administer Naloxone, an overdose reversal medication. The county health department also launched the safer syringe initiative in 2016, which provides free Naloxone to Orange County residents.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed North Carolina as one of 26 states to report a statistically significant drug overdose death rate increase from 2015 to 2016, with a 24.7 percent increase. The CDC also reported that opioids were involved in over 40,000 deaths nationwide in 2016 and opioid overdose deaths were five times higher in 2016 than in 1999.
The North Carolina Injury and Violence Prevention Branch reported that an average of five people per day died as a result of drug overdose in North Carolina in 2016, noting that opioids contributed to a majority of these deaths.
McHugh Fuller Law Group proposes that the money generated by the lawsuit can help governments pay for costs associated with medical care, treatment for addicts and increased law enforcement expenses as a result of the opioid epidemic. The three companies involved share 85 percent of the prescription drug market and generate over $300 billion dollars in annual revenue according to The Herald-Sun.
Rich said her decision to vote for Orange County joining the nationwide lawsuit was influenced by the catastrophic nature of opioid addiction in the community.
“Overdoses don’t only impact the person that is getting addicted to opioids," Rich said. "It’s their families, it’s their loved ones, it’s just everybody involved."

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Orange County Joins National Litigation Against Opioid Manufacturers and Distributers

Jan 31, 2018 | WCHL (NC)

By Daniel Ocampo

The Orange County Board of Commissioners has joined in on current national litigation regarding the opioid epidemic after a briefing on the subject at a meeting last week.
Attorney Amy Quezon from McHugh Fuller Law Group in Mississippi is a part of a group effort from five law firms around the country creating litigation against opioid manufactures and distributors.
“You can’t watch the news anymore without knowing what’s going on in our country,” Quezon said of the opioid crisis. “Particularly hard hit have been the Appalachian areas and the rural south. In North Carolina alone, in 1999 there were 150 opioid related deaths, in 2016 that number was over 1,500.”
Quezon says wealthy distributors and manufacturers are ultimately responsible.
“Our basic premise is that the manufacturers and the wholesale distributors of the opioids knew exactly what was happening. They were in the best position to know how many pills were being funneled, and flooding really, into our cities and into our counties,” said Quezon. “Under the controlled substance act, they had a duty that if they saw suspicious orders, that they were to immediately stop the shipment and to alert the DEA of the suspicious orders, such that unethical doctors, these pill mills, black-market pills that were being sold, could be investigated and stopped. What we found is that they simply did not alert the DEA into any suspicious orders for year after year after year and now here we are.”
Over 200 counties and municipalities around the country, and now 16 in North Carolina, have joined in on an MDL, a consolidation of individual lawsuits with different damages, like negligence and public nuisance, but have been grouped all together due to their similarities.
The five law firms create personalized damage models for counties involved that include three steps: educating on the dangers of pills, law enforcement protection and treatment for addicts and infants born with addiction.
Quezon says there is no charge to Orange County to join in on the litigation even if the lawsuit is unsuccessful and possible settlements would be given to the board for damages.
“Whatever recovery would come, if there is a settlement for instance, that would be up to the commission, to you, the board of commissioners, to where the money would be best spent, in again, education, law enforcement, treatment, that sort of thing,” said Quezon.

County officials confirmed after the closed session last Tuesday that commissioners agreed to join in on the litigation.

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Midwest (IN)

Several Hamilton County towns join lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors

Feb 1, 2018 | WISHTV (IN)

By Brittany Lewis

A growing number of cities and counties in Indiana are suing opioid manufacturers and distributors, including several in Hamilton County.
Atlanta, Sheridan and Noblesville have all been working with Taft Stettinius & Hollister on the lawsuits. According to the law firm, Westfield is also in talks with them about the lawsuit.
Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear says they realized the opioid epidemic was becoming an issue for their city over the last several years.
“We’ve been prepared for this, it’s kind of crept up I think as a problem, but it is a major problem as I think we all know. For example, our EMS department has carried Narcan forever, for a long time since it’s been available. But our police department was equipped two years ago with Narcan because of the overdoses, drug overdoses. And so we have been able to save lives there, at least two years where we’ve been prepared and vision to do that, but it’s just grown,” he said.
The amount of Narcan the city EMS staff has administered over the last five years has doubled, according to James Macky, Division Chief of EMS.
“There’s more use. I see that on the end of ordering supplies, I’m ordering more Narcan than I ever have before. We also have dealt with Narcan shortages a couple years where we had a hard time getting Narcan and there was a big concern there that we wouldn’t be able to help people that needed Narcan,” said Macky.
The amount of deadly overdoses has also increased county-wide. According to the Hamilton County coroner, in 2014 there were 18 deadly overdoses, 21 in 2015, 26 in 2016 and 36 in 2017.
That’s one of the reasons why Noblesville is suing opioid manufacturers and distributors with the help of Taft Stettinius & Hollister.
“We believe that there is clear liability here, regarding both distributors and manufacturers, in their obligation to help fight the opioid crisis because in a large part it is of their making. They had obligations to those reports and that system that was set up, was designed specifically to prevent a black market and opioid crisis from being created and because they didn’t do that this is what we’re facing today,” said Chou-il Lee.
“We’ve seen this wreak havoc across the state with all of our clients. This isn’t unique to one client or one community, it truly affects everybody. With our work, we’ve seen this first hand, we’ve seen the hit on public safety officials in each of the communities is really the why of why we got involved,” said attorney Manny Herceg.
According to the lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Town of Sheridan, over the period of 2011-2015, the number of non-fatal emergency department visits due to opioid overdoses in Hamilton County has nearly doubled.
“This incredible harm, to not just the victims of opioid addition, but the communities in which those individuals lived, stems directly from the Defendants’ intentional choice to pump opoids into Plaintiff’s community in violation of state and federal law,” the lawsuit reads.
The suit also says, “The manufacturers aggressively pushed highly addictive, dangerous opioids, falsely representing to doctors that patients would rarely succumb to drug addiction. These pharmaceutical companies aggressively advertised to and persuaded doctors to prescribe highly addictive, dangerous opioids, turned patients into drug addicts for their own corporate profit. Such actions were intentional and/or unlawful.
It goes on to say, “The distributors and manufacturers intentionally and/or unlawfully breached their legal duties under federal and state law to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse and report suspicious orders of prescription opiates. Despite the clear evidence before their eyes – that the number of opioids being sent into communities like Town of Sheridan could not be explained or justified by any conceivable medical need, but could only be explained by a flourishing and rapidly expanding black market for opioids — these wholesale distributors continued to push their substances into the community, willingly and knowingly becoming participates in the black market they were fueling.
The lawsuit also claims the manufacturers and distributors caused a financial burden on the cities for which they are seeking relief for costs for providing medical care, additional therapeutic and prescription drug purchases, and other treatments for patients suffering from opioid-related addiction or disease, including overdoses and deaths; costs for providing treatment, counseling, and rehabilitation services; costs for providing treatment of infants born with opioid-related medical conditions; costs associated with law enforcement and public safety relating to the opioid epidemic; and costs associated with providing care for children whose parents suffer from opioid-related disability or incapacitation.
“If no more, then bringing attention to our community about the seriousness of this epidemic. If it does become a class lawsuit, then maybe we reap something, but I think the most important thing is educating people on the severity of this and the burden it’s putting on all of us,” said Ditslear.
All of the manufacturers and distributors listed in the lawsuit responded to it with statements.
Responsibly used opioid-based pain medicines give doctors and patients important choices to help manage the debilitating effects of chronic pain. At the same time, we recognize opioid abuse and addiction is a serious public health issue that must be addressed. We believe the allegations in the lawsuits against our company are both legally and factually unfounded. Janssen has acted in the best interests of patients and physicians with regard to its opioid pain medicines, which are FDA-approved and carry FDA-mandated warnings about possible risks on every product label. According to independent surveillance data, Janssen opioid pain medicines consistently have some of the lowest rates of abuse among these medications, and since 2008 the volume of Janssen opioid products always has amounted to less than one percent of the total prescriptions written per year for opioid medications, including generics. Addressing opioid abuse will require collaboration among many stakeholders and we will continue to work with federal, state and local officials to support solutions. -Jessica Castles Smith, spokesperson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

It is important to put into perspective Allergan’s role regarding opioids. Allergan’s two branded opioid products – Norco and Kadian – account for less than 0.08% of all opioid products prescribed in 2016 in the U.S. These products came to Allergan through legacy acquisitions and have not been promoted since 2012, in the case of Kadian, and since 2003, in the case of Norco. Allergan has a history of supporting — and continues to support — the safe, responsible use of prescription medications. This includes opioid medications, which when sold, prescribed and used responsibly, play an appropriate role in pain relief for millions of Americans.”-ALLEGRAN Statement on Opioid Legal actions
AmerisourceBergen and other wholesale drug distributors are responsible for getting FDA-approved drugs from pharmaceutical manufacturers to DEA-registered pharmacies, based on prescriptions written by licensed doctors and health care providers. Our role in doing so is quite widespread across different therapies, with the distribution of opioid-based products constituting less than two percent of our sales.We are dedicated to doing our part as a distributor to mitigate the diversion of these drugs without interfering with clinical decisions made by doctors, who interact directly with patients and decide what treatments are most appropriate for their care. Beyond our reporting and immediate halting of tens of thousands of potentially suspicious orders, we refuse service to customers we deem as a diversion risk and provide daily reports to the DEA that detail the quantity, type, and the receiving pharmacy of every single order of these products that we distribute. We are committed to collaborating with all stakeholders, including in Indiana, on ways to combat opioid abuse.-AmerisourceBergen

Endo is dedicated to providing safe, quality products to patients in need and we share the public concern regarding opioid abuse and misuse. We are committed to working collaboratively to develop and implement a comprehensive solution to the opioid crisis, which is a complex problem with several causes that are difficult to disentangle. Any serious solution must therefore be multifaceted and consider, among other things, the legitimate access needs of the millions of patients suffering from acute or chronic pain who rely on opioids to improve their quality of life.Toward that goal, Endo has taken meaningful action during the past year by voluntarily ceasing opioid promotion and eliminating its entire product salesforce. Endo also voluntarily withdrew Opana® ER from the market following FDA’s request despite having a statutory right to challenge that request, implemented additional anti-diversion measures and terminated its new opioid product development programs. It is Endo’s policy not to comment on current litigation. That said, we deny the allegations contained in this lawsuit and intend to vigorously defend the Company. – Endo
Teva is committed to the appropriate use of opioid medicines, and we recognize the critical public health issues impacting communities across the U.S. as a result of illegal drug use as well as the misuse and abuse of opioids that are available legally by prescription. To that end, we take a multi-faceted approach to this complex issue; we work to educate communities and healthcare providers on appropriate medicine use and prescribing, we comply closely with all relevant federal and state regulations regarding these medicines, and, through our R&D pipeline, we are developing non-opioid treatments that have the potential to bring relief to patients in chronic pain. Teva also collaborates closely with other stakeholders, including providers and prescribers, regulators, public health officials and patient advocates, to understand how to prevent prescription drug abuse without sacrificing patients’ needed access to pain medicine.”-Teva
We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and are dedicated to being part of the solution. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge. Although our products account for approximately 2% of the total opioid prescriptions, as a company, we’ve distributed the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, developed three of the first four FDA-approved opioid medications with abuse-deterrent properties and partner with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone. We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”-Purdue PharmaAs distributors, we understand the tragic impact the opioid epidemic has on communities across the country.
We are deeply engaged in the issue and are taking our own steps to be part of the solution – but we aren’t willing to be scapegoats.“Distributors are logistics companies that arrange for the safe and secure storage, transport, and delivery of medicines from manufacturers to pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and others based on prescriptions from licensed physicians. We don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines, or dispense them to consumers.“Given our role, the idea that distributors are solely responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and how it is regulated.“We are ready to have a serious conversation about solving a complex problem and are eager to work with political leaders and all stakeholders in finding forward-looking solutions.”— John Parker, SVP, Healthcare Distribution Alliance

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West (CO)

Colorado county 1st in state to file opioid lawsuit against drug companies

Jan 31, 2018 | Becker's Hospital Review

By Brian Zimmerman

Attorneys on behalf of Huerfano County filed a lawsuit Sunday against drugmakers and distributors for allegedly contributing to the county's opioid crisis, marking the first such lawsuit filed by a local government in Colorado, according to a report from The Denver Post.
The suit alleges these companies engaged in deceptive marketing campaigns that misled the community about the safety of opioid pain medications. The county seeks to recoup $750,000 in economic damages as a result of the opioid crisis and $1.5 million in future damages related to the crisis.
"Our county is one of the hardest hit counties in Colorado," said John Galusha, county administrator, according to The Denver Post. "We need to stop this opioid epidemic before it becomes worse."
The suit names McKesson, Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals and numerous subsidiaries of these companies as defendants.

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Northwest (WA)

Another Washington county sues drugmakers over opioid crisis

Jan 31, 2018 | Associated Press

By Staff

Clallam County is joining more than 200 other litigants in suing opioid makers and wholesale distributors for damages over prescription opioids.
The Peninsula Daily News reports county commissioners are hiring a Seattle-based nationwide law firm to file the lawsuit on behalf of Clallam County in federal district court in Cleveland, Ohio, commissioners’ Chairman Mark Ozias said Monday.
The county’s Board of Health last week recommended the county pursue legal action against manufacturers including Purdue Pharma.
Chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney David Alvarez says Clallam County is an appropriate litigant for the case.
The state Department of Health says the county has an age-adjusted rate of opioid-related overdose deaths higher than any county in Washington from 2012-16.
Seattle and Washington state are among others suing the companies, but in state court.
The drug companies have disputed the allegations.

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Commentary and FYIs

Balkman appoints judicial master in state opioid case

Feb 1, 2018 | Norman Transcript (OK)

By Jacob McGuire

Cleveland County Judge Thad Balkman has appointed a judicial master to the Oklahoma Attorney General's lawsuit against several opioid manufacturers. With the decision, disputes involving evidence in the case shouldn’t keep the case from moving forward.
On Monday, Balkman signed an order appointing William C. Hetherington Jr. as a special master leading up to the case’s May 28, 2019, trial date.
“The likely benefit of the appointment of a discovery master outweighs its burden or expense, considering the unique needs of the case, the sizable amount in controversy, the parties’ resources, the overarching public importance of the issues at stake in the action and the importance of the referred issues in resolving the proceeding in which the appointment is made,” Balkman’s order read.
As a special master, Hetherington will work to ensure efficiency in the court system by resolving evidence disputes between the state and the companies.
He is a former Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals and Cleveland County judge.
Hetherington will be paid $375 an hour and reimbursed for all reasonable expenses incurred. The companies agreed to pay Hetherington during a Jan. 11 hearing.
On June 30, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter filed a lawsuit claiming Purdue Pharma, Allergan, Teva, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and some of their subsidiaries misrepresented the addiction risks of their products that include dilaudid, kadian, actiq, fentora, duragesic, nucynta and oxycontin.
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, from 2011 to 2015, there were 3,553 unintentional overdose deaths in Oklahoma — 60 percent of those deaths involved opioids.
Additionally, according to nationwide statistics gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids killed more than 42,000 people in 2016, more than any year on record. Forty percent of all opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid.
“The state’s case is solid, and our team is prepared to hold these companies accountable for their role in the deadliest drug epidemic the state and nation have ever seen,” Hunter said.
What Hunter called a “drug epidemic” has prompted recommended legislation, policy and rules changes by his office and the recently formed Oklahoma Commission on Opioid Abuse.
Hunter, along with Sen. AJ Griffin, R-Guthrie, and Rep. Tim Downing, R-Purcell, announced the creation of the nine-member commission — made up of representatives from law enforcement, the medical community, businesses and the state legislature — in April.
Members were tasked with studying, evaluating and making recommendations for changes to state policy, rules and statutes to better combat opioid abuse in Oklahoma.
The commission’s recommendations for legislative changes included mandating the use of electronic prescriptions, criminalizing the trafficking of fentanyl and its equivalent, requiring medical clinic owners to register with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, taxing manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of opioids and using the money as a funding mechanism for opioid addiction treatment.
“What we are presenting today is a blueprint for changes to legislation and policy that will establish a much needed framework to further enhance Oklahoma’s response to the opioid epidemic,” Hunter said. “When implemented, we know lives will be saved, more treatment options will be made available, addiction will be diagnosed, diverted and treated, allowing families who have loved ones struggling with addiction to get help and drug dealers will be held accountable. I look forward to seeing the change that will come about because of our work.”

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OPIOID EPIDEMIC SHATTERS DRUG STEREOTYPES

Feb 1, 2018 | The Anchor (MI)

By Sophia Vander Kooy

The amount of Americans that have to google the word “opioid” to find out what exactly this class of drugs includes is decreasing as the addiction epidemic across the U.S. rapidly filters into more neighborhoods, schools and towns. As reported by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of opioid-related overdoses in 2016 was 5 times higher than in 1999. As this number continues to grow, the CDC estimates that about 115 Americans die of an opioid overdose every single day. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that between 24.6 million and 36 million people worldwide are opioid users. As the numbers continue to morph into personal stories of neighbors, classmates, friends and family who have fallen into opioid usage, NGOs and government officials alike are panicking to find any stable solution.
o best understand the crisis, there must first be an establishment of what an opioid is and how it is used. An opioid is classified as a substance that acts on the nervous system to produce feelings of euphoria and reduce pain. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, opioids include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic drugs such as Fentanyl, and pain relievers available by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine and morphine. Many of these drugs are given out in hefty supply following minor surgeries, such as wisdom teeth removal.
The epidemic has stopped at no demographic as it continues to find its way into the lives of all Americans. In order to seek preventative measures, many groups, such as the American Addiction Center, are publishing information to help identify the signs and symptoms of opioid usage. People can consume opioids by either pill consumption, injection, smoking, or snorting and therefore often use basic kitchen materials to aid in the process. Paraphernalia associated with usage can often be spoons, cotton balls, tie-offs, lighters, candles, aluminum foil and straws. If an excess of any of these supplies goes missing, it is vital to question those around to ensure the kitchen items are not contributing to one of the deadliest drug crises in American history.
Many news groups ,including National Public Radio, 60 Minutes, The Washington Post and The New York Times, have linked the nationwide epidemic to manipulation and corruption of “Big Pharma.” They argue that pharmaceutical companies that distribute opioids such as Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and subsidiary Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Allergen, oversell and underprice medication and encourage the epidemic to further.
In May, the state of Ohio sued the five previously mentioned companies for “fueling the opioid epidemic,” an action that has since resulted in the attorney generals of 41 U.S. states launching a full-fledged investigation that will demand information and documents from the manufacture’s and distributors of prescription opioid drugs. Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York opened the investigation in September when he released a statement saying: “We’re committed to getting to the bottom of a broken system that has fueled the epidemic and taken far too many lives.”
Although this coalition will hopefully lead to progress within the distribution of opioids, it does little to aid the increasing number of Americans already addicted. For many, the pain of withdrawal keeps them on the drugs.
According to American Addiction Center, withdrawal is a very subjective response, and symptoms often begin immediately after drug use has stopped, continuing with another round of symptoms that occur around 72 hours after drug use has stopped, known as the “late withdrawal symptoms.” Many people recovering from opioid addiction experience agitation, anxiety, hypertension, excessive sweating and yawning, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, goosebumps, stomach cramps and depression.

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Attorneys general "making progress" on opioids probe, Shapiro says

Feb 1, 2018 | The Morning Call (PA)

By Paul Muschik

Progress is being made in a nationwide probe of prescription opioids manufacturers and distributors, with investigators finding "things of great interest" in subpoenaed documents, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Wednesday during a wide-ranging interview with Morning Call reporters and editors in Allentown.
“I can tell you that we have subpoenaed and demanded lots and lots of documents,” Shapiro said. “We are poring through them right now.”
Pennsylvania is one of the lead states in a 41-state probe into the business practices of five manufacturers and three distributors that Shapiro said are responsible for distributing nearly 90 percent of the nation’s prescription opioids.
He didn’t reveal a lot of new information Wednesday about the investigation and declined to answer some questions, including whether the inquiry was proceeding as a criminal or civil matter. But opioid overdoses have hit the Lehigh Valley so hard that any insight is of interest.
The most recent development was that aides from Shapiro’s office traveled to Cleveland on Wednesday to meet with representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, other lead states on the national investigation and other jurisdictions that have been investigating on their own. Shapiro said the meeting was requested by a federal judge.
Some Pennsylvania counties and other state attorneys general have filed their own lawsuits challenging pharmaceutical companies’ marketing and distribution practices, while the national probe that Shapiro’s office is involved with, ongoing since at least June, has not resulted in any legal action.
When asked about that, Shapiro said he did not believe those other cases would be fruitful. He noted that a lawsuit filed by Chicago has been pending for three years.
“I think those lawsuits are not particularly helpful and are not going to go anywhere,” Shapiro said.
He considers the multi-state case to be the only investigation with the resources and authority to change corporate behavior and affect the course of the epidemic.
The goal of the national case is to recover the cost of public resources that have been expended to deal with the opioid crisis and “change corporate behavior, so that the industry can no longer do what I think it’s been doing, which is turning a blind eye to the effects of dumping these drugs in the communities,” Shapiro said.
When asked what more government could do to stop people from getting addicted and help those who are, Shapiro offered a few ideas.
He said President Donald Trump could provide greater access to rehab opportunities by removing a prohibition against Medicaid covering treatment at facilities that have more than 16 beds.
“He could wipe that away in an executive order,” Shapiro said. “That would open up tens of thousands of beds across the country for treatment.”
He said Pennsylvania could make better use of its prescription monitoring database and send letters to physicians several times a year letting them know how their opioid prescribing rate compares with others in their specialty and region. That might have a “peer pressure” effect and influence prescribing practices, he said.
“Doctors need to know where they stand when it comes to prescribing,” Shapiro said.
The attorney general also addressed several other topics during Wednesday’s interview, including a national investigation his office is leading into the Equifax data breach last year that potentially exposed the personal information of 145 million Americans.
Shapiro guaranteed the probe would get to the bottom of how the breach happened and when it happened. The goal is to recoup the costs incurred by consumers and the state.
He didn’t have nice things to say about Equifax.
“Equifax has been pretty horrible to work with,” Shapiro said. “They simply do not understand that their conduct here has been abhorrent, both before the breach, how long they waited to notify us and the way that they have, if I can say, jerked around consumers since the breach occurred.”

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Can Unit-Dose Packaging Reduce Opioid Abuse?

Jan 31, 2018 | HealthcarePackaging

By Jim Butschli

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb addressed the ongoing opioid issue in a Jan. 30 statementoutlining steps to help prevent new addiction, curb abuse and overdoses related to opioid products.
In the statement, Gottlieb said, “At the FDA, we believe one of our key roles in addressing the opioid epidemic is to reduce new addiction. We’re exploring ways we can reduce exposure to opioids through our influence on prescribers, particularly through our Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) authorities. We’re also actively exploring how we can use changes in packaging as a way to give providers better options for tailoring how much they prescribe to the clinical need. This is especially true when it comes to immediate release formulations of opioid drugs like Vicodin and Percocet, which are typically meant for short-term use.
“If more immediate-release opioid drugs, in particular, were packaged in three- or six-day blister packs; then more doctors may opt for these shorter durations of use. Additionally, provided the FDA concluded that there was sufficient scientific support for these shorter durations of use, this could provide the basis for further regulatory action to drive more appropriate prescribing.”
He provided the following insight: “To illustrate the point: Suppose the dental community developed an expert guideline that said that no routine dental procedure should require more than a three- or five-day initial fill of an immediate-release opioid, and the FDA reviewed and determined that blister packs in these quantities were necessary to ensure safe use. If the drugs were then packaged in blister packs that comported with these durations of use, it could help reduce overall dispensing. More doctors might more readily opt to prescribe these blister packs instead of other treatment options.
“Today, toward these goals, we have taken a new action related to how one opioid product is packaged as a way to help address a growing problem of abuse and misuse of this product. The FDA is requesting that sponsors of OTC loperamide ‒ an FDA-approved product to help control short-term symptoms of diarrhea, including Travelers’ Diarrhea—change the way they label and package these drugs to stem abuse and misuse that leaves us deeply concerned.”
Gottlieb noted, “The FDA added a warning to the product label in the spring of 2017 to warn of ingesting high doses of loperamide, including from abuse and misuse. Evidence suggests that package limitations and use of unit-dose packaging may reduce medication overdose and death.
“Today we sent letters to the OTC manufacturers requesting that they implement changes consisting of packaging limitations and unit-of-dose packaging. We’re requesting that packages contain a limited amount of loperamide appropriate for use for short-term diarrhea according to the product label. One example is a single retail package containing eight 2-milligram capsules in blister packaging. We asked the manufacturers to take the necessary steps to implement these changes in a timely fashion to address these public health concerns.
“I also plan to reach out to those who distribute loperamide online, through retail websites, to ask them to take voluntary steps to help us address this abuse issue. The new packaging should help make limits on sales more easily achieved. The abuse of loperamide requires the purchase of extremely large quantities. Often this is done through the purchase of large bottles of loperamide, which is a common configuration in which the pill form of the medication is currently packaged.”
The statement concluded: “Today’s action is intended to change how the product is packaged, to eliminate these large-volume containers. We know that many of the bulk purchases of these large volumes are being made online through major online web retailers. Appropriate prescribing practices, better packaging, and education are important steps within our statutory authority to help address the human and financial toll of opioid addiction. They can reduce harm while still providing effective pain management protocols. Today’s Part 15 hearing, and the new actions I mentioned, are indicative of the kinds of steps we need to take as we confront this epidemic.”
HCPC supports statement
Meanwhile, Healthcare Packaging asked the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council (HCPC) for comment on Gottlieb’s statement. HCPC is a not-for-profit trade association that promotes the benefits of unit-dose packaging that can help patients take their medications properly. HCPC’s Executive Director Walter Berghahn offered the following comments:
“We found the announcement regarding Loperamide and suggested retail packaging changes to be quite interesting. Historically, FDA is reluctant to specify method when seeking change from industry. They will identify the desired outcome but leave the method to industry.In most cases this makes sense as the agency does not want to stifle innovation. In this case it seems the agency believes the solution is quite clear. I am sure they recognize that this particular change to unit dose and limited quantity will not put undue burden on the industry since machinery and packages exist to meet these needs whether in manufacturing plants or in our robust contract packaging market.
“HCPC was fortunate enough to participate in the FDA meeting, ‘Packaging, Storage, and Disposal Options to Enhance Opioid Safety - Exploring the Path Forward’in December. Scott Gottlieb kicked off that meeting and mentioned unit-dose and blister packaging specifically in his opening comments. It seems that the years of evidence and numerous examples where unit dose has played a positive role in resolving problems (CDC's example of Buprenorphine Naloxone comes to mind) that the agency feels comfortable calling out the specific tool in light of the current challenge.
“This notation is evidence that the agency is following through on the statements of early December with real action in late January. [That’s] great to see. HCPC is quite excited by this development.”

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Will Wayne County join those filing lawsuits against opioid industry?

Jan 31, 2018 | Palladium Item (IN)

By Jason Truitt

In recent months, communities across the country that have been hit hard by the opioid abuse epidemic have filed a series of lawsuits against the makers and distributors of the drugs.
So far, Wayne County hasn't joined the litigation parade, but a final decision could come soon.
County commissioners back in October discussed whether they should join a growing list of Indiana communities that have filed suit, including Indianapolis, Bloomington, Lafayette, Muncie, Fayette County, New Castle and plenty of others.
No final vote was taken at the time, but Mary Anne Butters and Denny Burns were quick to voice their opinions that the effort was misguided while Ken Paust advocated for jumping into the fray.
“In looking at and listening to the presentations that were presented by the law firms on what their approach was and why they felt a class-action lawsuit should be brought against these companies and then looking at the rate that we have of usage in Wayne County — we probably are one of the highest in the state here — and the more I looked at that and looked at how drugs are being dispensed, I thought there was a legit reason that we should definitely look into it," Paust said this week.
“We have certainly suffered a tremendous amount of expense this year.”
In general, the lawsuits filed by communities accuse opioid makers of aggressively pushing their drugs on doctors while underplaying the chances of addiction.
Distributors are being targeted for allegedly failing to properly handle suspiciously large orders.
The lawsuits seek compensation to help pay for the costs of dealing with the epidemic's fallout.
“It’s obvious to me that the suit is going to go forward. If we’re a part of that, then we have an opportunity if there is a settlement to get some money back into Wayne County," Paust said.
Burns and Butters are concerned about the impact any future settlement might have on consumers, fearing companies would raise their prices as a result.
“I feel that if Big Pharma has to pay a multi-million-dollar settlement, those who will pay the most are those individuals who have a legitimate need for not just opioids that are made by those pharmaceutical companies but the entire array of their prescription product line," Butters said this week.
In the time since that October discussion, Burns' stance has softened a bit.
“’60 Minutes’ did a story that kind of made me rethink this. At least in the case of Purdue Pharma, they were terrible. Their marketing strategy clearly misled doctors, and that’s why I may change my mind," he said.
At the same time, Burns is concerned that communities see the situation as a chance to make a play for some free cash through a large settlement such as the one that was reached with the tobacco industry years ago.
“There’s a lot of good companies out there that do a lot of good for our people, and we shouldn’t just sue them because a bunch of lawyers say we can," he said.
Butters believes the lawsuits are part of a "wrong-headed approach to the opioid crisis."
“It is my feeling that the commissioners made the decision, and I am certainly going to stick by that decision we made," she said.
A final vote on the matter could come within a few weeks, according to Paust.
“I would think that within the next month if we’re going to join, that we would need to do that," he said.

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Democratic senators want an official investigation into Trump’s weak response to the opioid crisis (EDITORIAL)

Jan 31, 2018 | Vox

By German Lopez

A group of Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), are asking the Government Accountability Office to investigate the Trump administration’s response to the opioid epidemic.
In a letter obtained exclusively by Vox, the senators asked the GAO to look into what President Donald Trump and his administration have done after declaring a public health emergency over the opioid crisis in October.
“We are writing to request that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a review of the actions that the Trump administration has taken to ‘reduce the number of deaths and minimize the devastation the drug demand and opioid crisis inflicts upon American communities’ since the October 26, 2017 declaration that the opioid crisis is a public health emergency,” the senators wrote.
Trump had promised that his administration’s emergency declaration would help mobilize more resources to address the opioid crisis.
Since then, the Trump administration has taken no significant action on the opioid epidemic. Although the administration renewed the emergency declaration this month, it’s made no moves to spend significantly more money on the crisis. Key positions in the administration also remain unfilled — even for the White House’s drug czar office and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The senators acknowledge that “[t]he declaration of a public health emergency is a potentially important step towards combatting the opioid crisis.” But they question whether the declaration has been properly deployed and leveraged: “Given the severity of the crisis, we have grown increasingly concerned by reports that the President has done little to make use of his public health emergency declaration, leaving state and local communities without the resources they need to fight the opioid epidemic.”
The senators ask the GAO to look into the tools the administration has available through the public health emergency, which tools have been used, and how the administration has justified its use of an emergency declaration. The GAO regularly reviews a variety of government functions not just for waste but also for effectiveness (including, for example, flu preparedness and other opioid policies), and those reviews can help guide or reset subsequent policymaking.
Experts and advocates have been critical of the Trump administration’s handling of the opioid crisis, calling for the White House to do much more.
Chuck Ingoglia, a senior vice president at the National Council for Behavioral Health, which advocates on addiction issues, previously summarized the consensus: “A lot of talk, little action. It’s great that the president says this is a priority. It’s great that he convened a task force so we have another paper that says the opioid crisis in America needs attention. But too little has happened to actually do anything about it.”
In 2016, the latest year with a full official count, there were nearly 64,000 drug overdose deaths in the US — an all-time high. The rise in drug overdose deaths was a big reason that life expectancy fell for the second year in a row in the US, which had not happened since the early 1960s.
And the early data suggests that 2017 was worse: According to preliminary figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were nearly 67,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period through June 2017, up from more than 57,000 in the 12-month period through June 2016.
If the worst trends continue, STAT forecasts that as many as 650,000 people will die within the next decade — the equivalent of the entire population of Baltimore.
This is the reality facing Trump, the reality in which his administration has responded with next to nothing. And now Democratic senators want answers.
Trump has been all talk, no action
“The administration has done very little to combat the opioid epidemic to date,” Gary Mendell, founder and chair of Shatterproof, an advocacy group focused on the opioid epidemic, previously told me. “That doesn’t mean they won’t in the future, but to date, there’s no question that the administration has done very little.”
Here are the most significant steps that Trump and his administration have taken on the opioid epidemic since he took office:
Trump launched a commission to study the opioid epidemic and drug addiction, which released its recommendations in November. Only a couple of the commission’s dozens of proposals — which mostly focused on a public health approach, particularly by increasing access to treatment — have been implemented.
The Trump administration in October declared a public health emergency over the opioid epidemic — a move that at first sounded promising because it could cut some red tape to getting policy solutions out quickly, but has been followed with no significant resources to actually deal with the crisis.
Trump also announced in October “a new policy” to help overcome a rule that blocks Medicaid from reimbursing services from inpatient facilities that treat “mental diseases,” including addiction, with more than 16 beds. Eliminating this barrier could let states open up more treatment beds, but experts are skeptical that a mere regulatory shift will have much of an impact overall.
Trump in January signed the INTERDICT Act, which will provide border and customs agents with new tools to detect and stop illicit fentanyl from packages, mail, and passengers.
The Department of Justice has continued its efforts to crack down on unscrupulous prescribers of opioid painkillers by promoting law enforcement attempts to shut down pill mills and arrest the doctors involved.
That’s it. No major new funding, nor a push for more funding. No big new strategy. To the extent any money was allocated, it was largely from policies that preceded Trump — such as the Cures Act, which passed in 2016 with then-President Barack Obama’s approval and allocated $1 billion over two years to the opioid crisis.
“He’s done nothing,” Keith Humphreys, a drug policy expert at Stanford University, said earlier this month, referring to federal funding in particular. “He did appoint a commission. I think those people did a pretty good job. They were smart, they listened, they came up with a lot of good ideas. And they’ve been ignored entirely.”
The most notable actual policy change is the INTERDICT Act. This law’s effect, however, will likely be greatly limited. The federal government has for decades tried to intercept illicit drugs before they come into the US, but drugs have consistently gotten through in huge numbers anyway. Along these lines, experts are deeply skeptical that any effort to beef up border security, including Trump’s wall, would do much, if anything, to stop the flow of drugs into the US.
Meanwhile, Trump hasn’t appointed anyone to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the office is mired by staffing problems — including the hiring of a deputy chief of staff who apparently lied in parts of his résumé. The drug czar’s office, as it’s known colloquially, is crucial to coordinating federal efforts on drugs, according to experts.
Trump also has not nominated anyone to head the DEA, which is tasked with enforcing the nation’s drug laws.
In his proposals, Trump has also tried to cut the budget for the Office of National Drug Control Policy by 95 percent — a move that his team initially walked back after facing bipartisan opposition during last year’s budget talks but reportedly may try again this year.
His budget plan also proposed keeping spending for addiction treatment relatively flat, while cutting prevention funding. The administration has also been silent on proposals in Congress to increase funding to the opioid epidemic, including Democratic bills to add tens of billions of dollars in spending over the next few years to deal with the crisis.
And the administration supported the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which experts credit with expanding access to addiction treatment.
All of this adds up to the sentiment I heard again and again: “It’s remarkable how little we’ve seen,” Andrew Kolodny, an opioid policy expert at Brandeis University, previously told me. “There really has been next to no action by the Trump administration other than public statements.”
People need action (and money), not talk
The Trump administration’s actions so far, particularly through its establishment of a commission to study the issue, suggest that the opioid epidemic’s solutions are some sort of big mystery.
The reality, experts say, is that while there is no one silver bullet, we have a lot of good ideas about how to deal with the crisis.
One of the big problems is a lack of access to addiction treatment: According to a 2016 report by the surgeon general, only about 10 percent of people with a substance use disorder get specialized treatment. The report attributed the gap, in part, to a lack of supply of treatment — an issue that simply requires more money to deal with.
“I don’t think we don’t know what to do. We do know what to do,” Regina LaBelle, who served in Obama’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, previously told me. “We need money and the strategy and … political leadership and courage.”
As I previously explained, experts generally agree on what more federal resources should go to: They could be used to boost access to treatment (particularly highly effective medications for opioid addiction), pull back lax access to opioid painkillers while keeping them accessible to patients who truly need them, and adopt harm reduction policies that mitigate the damage caused by opioids and other drugs.
Advocates and experts argue about whether the extra resources should come through Medicaid, block grants for mental health and addiction care, or some other source. The consensus, though, is that much more federal support is needed — in the tens of billions of dollars over the next few years.
“I was just in West Virginia this week. These counties are really devastated,” LaBelle said earlier in January. “I know that’s been covered a lot. But it’s really something when you talk to a county official and you see how little money they have to put toward the epidemic.”
Some states are attempting to seriously confront this crisis. Vermont, for example, has built a “hub and spoke” system that treats addiction as a public health issue and integrates treatment into the rest of health care. The state was the only one in New England to have an overdose death rate that wasn’t significantly above the national average in 2016. (For more, check out my in-depth breakdown of Vermont’s system.)
But Vermont managed to build this new system in large part with federal dollars, particularly through Obamacare’s insurance expansion and a special Medicaid waiver that states can obtain through the health care law. It’s that kind of federal support that budget-strained states will need to deal with the opioid crisis.
These are the kinds of considerations and ideas that experts say can help the country move toward ending the opioid epidemic.

But even after it declared a public health emergency, the Trump administration has done little to lift up those kinds of ideas.

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Broadcast Media Coverage

FOX and Friends

Feb 1, 2018 | Fox News

By National Programming

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32370790?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
Rough Transcript: president trump vowing to help end the opioid crisis gripping our nation during his state of the union speech. watch this. >> my administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and helping get treatment for those in need. for those who have been so terribly hurt. the struggle will be long and it will be difficult. but as americans always do, in the end, we will succeed, we will prevail. ainsley: but a new congressional report suggests medicaid fraud might actually be driving the opioid crisis by making it easier for the enrollees to abuse and then resell the highly addictive painkillers. 7:48 AMhere to weigh in on this is dr. kevin sebet a former white house drug policy advisor and affiliated fellow at yale university and went to oxford. very informed. worked for three administrations. thank you for being with us. >> thanks for having me. ainsley: what's the probable here. >> there is multiple things going into the opioid epidemic. there is plenty of blame to share. medicaid expansion. some issues with fraud. that's also been a way for people to get treatment, too. i wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. there is plenty of blame on all sides of this. even private insurers are to blame. many won't cover quality addiction treatment. we need quality dixson treatment in this country. we need funding for it for the president's opioid commission. bipartisan commission. put out a very good report. now we need to see congress and the administration fund those recommendations. that's how we are going to get out of this crisis. ainsley: some people need painkillers for whatever they are going through and not abusing it. but so many are. and unfortunately something has to be done. and those folks who really need the medication, we don't want them to have to experience pain. >> absolutely. 7:49 AMthe vast majority of people prescribed pain killers actually don't have a problem with them. it's a small minority. that small minority consumes over 90% of the pills. there have been a lot of opioid manufacturers who have been encouraging, overprescribing and in fact many attorneys general from mike dewine in ohio to mr. sneiderman here in new york. they have actually taken suits against the opioid manufacturers because of their false claims. so there is a lot of blame here. i wouldn't put all the blame on medicaid. we don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. that can be a way to get people to treatment. the issue is we need high quality treatment in this country and we don't have it. ainsley: the numbers are just staggering. 170,000 recipients of medicaid are going -- are doctor shopping. they are going to five or more doctors. that is insane. how do you prevent that? >> dr. shopping is a huge issue. we need states to get on board with prescription monitoring programs. again, it's not. ainsley: like a database. >> a database. which we have begun but we need to have teeth behind that database. we need to do much better dr. prescribing. some states limit prescribe for those who have a history of addiction. doctors should be asking when you go to the doctor. they should be looking at your history. that's how we see addiction as a health issue. we need to mainstream it into regular healthcare so it's not just in the church basements only. if we continue to do that, and we continue to do things like legalize marijuana and these other very harmful policies, we're going to make the opioid crisis much worse. this is an addiction crisis. ainsley: you hear that, california. >> and many other states. this is an addiction crisis. not just opioid crisis. these are people using opioid, mixing them with alcohol, benz zoe i do as benz i do as philippines. we have to fund the recommendations. ainsley: good deal. thank you for being with us.

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ABC2 News Good Morning Maryland 4:30AM

Feb 1, 2018 | WMAR (ABC)

By Baltimore, MD

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32371055?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
Rough Transcript: baltimore city is suing manufactucers and distributors of opioid pain medications... the lawsuit was announced by city solicitor andre davis on wednesday.. he says the companies misled patients about the dangers of their products through what he said were illegal marketing tactics. several other jurisdictions in maryland are also suing drug manufactorors, including anne arundel and harford counties. davis says any money won by the city would be used to cover policing and health care costs that stem from overdoses-- and addiction treatment.

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FOX 45 Late Edition

Feb 1, 2018 | WBFF (FOX)

By Baltimore, MD

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32371060?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
Rough Transcript: baltimore solicitor is suing two major drug manufacturers and distributors for what they're calling fraudulent and reckless marketing of opioids. the two pharmaceutical companies used elicit marketing tactics to mislead the dangers of oxy-cont oxnt' asking for an immediate end to opioid marketing. >> they were reckless. they were intentional. it was marketing. it was greed. and we're going to try to hold them accountable for the harm that they've caused to baltimore city. >> jennifer: the city is also seeking an undisclosed amount of money that would go in a general fund that would assist in overdose calls.

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ABC27 News

Jan 31, 2018 | WHTM (ABC)

By Harrisburg, PA

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32370777?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
Rough Transcript: fighting the opioid cris. in the courts. dauphin county commissioner announced this morning, they're suing pharmaceutical companies for their role in the epidemic. christine mclarty.. live in harrisburg with more.. christine. christine: we now have our hands on the 78 page lawsuit. the commisioners wanting to make it very clear - which taxpayers are not responsible for footing the bill. in fact - commisioners say if they win the lawsuit they want to use the money to continue combating the opioid cris in the midstate. 11 drug manufactures and 3 doctors being sued - including purdue pharma incorporated, johnson and johnson and teva pharmaceuticals usa. commisioners say they support attorney general shapiro who on behalf of the state is attempting to sue drug manufacturers. opioid overdoses caused 85 deaths in dauphin county in 2016 - the death toll jumping to more than 100 last year. nationwide - more than half a million deaths . meanwhile the lawsuit drug comapines named in the suit have been making billions of dollars -- profiting off opioid sales. commissioner haste says the goal of this lawsuit is to save more lives. dauphin county commissioner jeff haste "we have first responders out there, local municipalities, schools, educators, everyone at the table trying to stop this epidemic. we're making small steps but the trend is still working against us. it's these types of folks we're suing who have a direct impact on this epidemic moving further" christine: the suit was filed yesterday and commisioners say it's up to the court what happens next.

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CBS 21 Morning News

Feb 1, 2018 | WHP (CBS)

By Harrisburg, PA

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Rough Transcript: we have new details about an opioid lawsuit in dauphin county. the comisioner's are taking 11 drug manufacturers and thre doctors to court- suing them for ignoring the addictive efects of opioids to make millions of dollars. last year - dauphin county spent nearly 20 milion dolars to help almost thre thousand people suffering from addiction. jef haste dauphin county comisioner "our taxpayers are paying the cost for someone from baltimore, from toledo, from wherever the case may be, doing their illegal trade right here. but they're arested here and it goes through our system and we're responsible for it. commissioners hope that this lawsuit wil 5:36 AMbring back money to dauphin county- and help alleviate the pressure that has been put on local residents. tonight on cbs 21 news at 1- erika shych continues her special assignment loking at the opioid crisis and how it afects the foster care system. she sits down with a local mother who strugled with a heroin addiction for years, losing custody of her 2 children. grace shober of adamstown entered addiction treatment facilities fourteen times- all while her children were in the care of her parents. she shares the struggles of addiction- and what it was like to be told she may never get custody of her children back. grace shober/adamstown 18:15:07 "i was proving to my parents, i was proving to children and youth, i was taking drug tests multiple times every wek, i was just basicaly that was everything i was doing." tonight at 1- you'll hear grace's story plus why those in the foster care field say kinship care is now a big part of how they place children in these circumstances. new this morning -- a new program in cumberland county is aimed at helping those with opioid addictions and who are in the criminal justice system. cbs 21's sara smal is live in the newsroom -- sara, this is the first type of program like this statewide? yes, sherry -- this opioidintervention court wil be the pilot program for the rest of the state. it reaches people at the beginning of their criminal justice track - and helps to treat their adiction as soon as possible. court officials say they hope everyone who lives in cumberland county ses how this will benefit the whole community. this "triage" court wil b identifying and selecting participants starting now. program leaders wil intervene when someone is at the beginning of the arest process for an opioid problem. then they will begin screening before taking part in the intensive program. judge jesica brewbaker tells me it will involve a lot of commitment to a treatment and recovery plan. the hope is to help people at the beginning of the drug charges proces - in order to help them soner. organizers say the opioid problem continues to grow -- and while there are resources to help - there's not enough -- and that's where this comes in.

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Eyewitness News Daybreak 5:00

Feb 1, 2018 | WSOC (ABC)

By Charlotte, NC

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Rough Transcript: we are live every half hour. gina esposito, channel 9 eyewitness news . >>> 5:05 and happening today, burke county leaders will discuss the latest combat with the opioid crisis. joining a nationwide lawsuit against big drug manufacturers and distributors. on monday, gaston county leaders did the same thing and mecklenburg also plans to join, soon. they all say that manufacturers improperly manufacture opioids.

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24-Hour News 8's Daybreak at 7AM

Feb 1, 2018 | WISH (CW)

By Indianapolis, IN

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32370797?token=e25eff6e-a22b-4301-a5f4-f17c8249b331
Rough Transcript: a growing 7:34 AMnumber of cities and counties in indiana are suing opioid manufacturers and distrubutors. (scott) that includes several in hamilton county. 24 hour ne 8's brittany lewis spoke with the mayor of one of the cities suing. (brittany) i talked to the mayor of noblesville -- who said they've realized the opoid epidemic was becoming an issue in their community the last few years. he said this lawsuit is one of several steps they are taking to address the crisis. (reporter) like many cities and counties across the state and country, there is concern in noblesville -- about the impact the opioidepidemic is having on the city. 02:17:13:15 it's kind of crept up as a pbolem, but itis a major problem as i think we all know. one way they know -- is by the amount of narcan that has been used in the city to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. 02:23:25:58:19 we've doubled over the last five years. noblesville is one of several muncipalities in hamilton county -- a county that has seen deadly overdoses jump from 18 in 2014 to 36 in 2017 -- that lawyers manny herceg and chou-il lee are 7:35 AMrepresenting in civil suits against opioid manufacturers and distributors. they had obligations to those reports and that system that was set up was designed specifically to prevent a black market and opioid cris from being created and because they didn't do that this is what we're facing today this isn't a unique to one client or one community, it truly affects everybody. with our work we've seen this first hand we've seen the hit on public safety officialin each of the community the suits are seeking relief in costs for medical care, one community, it truly affects everybody. with our work we've seen this first nd we've seen the hit on public safety officials in each of the community the suits are seeking relief in costs for medical care, treatment and counseling, treatment of infants born with opioid-related medical, costs associated with law enforcement and costs for providing care for kids whose parents are addicted to opioids. if no more, then bringing attention to our community about the seriousness of this epidemic if it does become a class lawsuit, then maybe we reap something, i think the most important thing is educating people on the severity of this and the burden it's putting on all of us. like so many cities and counties across the state and country. (brittany) atlanta and sheridan are the other towns in hamilton county working with the lawyers in the story. westfield is also in talks with them. i reached out to the five manufacturers and three distributors listed in the lawsuits. they all responded with statements. several distributors are respresented by the healthcare distribution alliance. a statement from the spokesperson for that organization said in part "given our role, the idea that distributors are soley responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and how it is regulated." i'll be putting that entire statement as well as statements from the other manufacturers and distributors named in the lawsuit on wish

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