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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 2/9/18
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Opioid Judge Doesn't Want The Media To Know Details Of Settlement Talks
Feb 8, 2018 | Forbes
By Daniel Fisher
The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors has named the teams of lawyers who will try to negotiate a settlement of hundreds of federal lawsuits - a complex task given parallel investigations and litigation by state attorneys general and potentially conflicting goals of private attorneys and their government counterparts. -
Harford to begin interviewing law firms to pursue suit against opioid manufacturers, distributors
Feb 9, 2018 | Baltimore Sun (MD)
By Erika Butler
Harford County is moving forward with its lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors but still has to work out its details, a county government spokesperson said this week. -
COUNTY FILES SUIT AGAINST OPIOID MANUFACTURERS
Feb 8, 2018 | The Sentinel (MD)
By Neal Earley
Montgomery County is suing 14 manufactures and distributors of prescription opioids as part of the county’s efforts to combat the growing nationwide opioid addiction crisis, County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) announced Wednesday. Attorneys filed the suit Wednesday in federal court because it is the most appropriate venue to address the devastating effect the opioid addiction crisis has had on the County. -
Maryland’s Most Populous County Sues Drug Makers For Spreading Addiction And Death
Feb 8, 2018 | The Daily Caller
By Steve Birr
The most populous county in Maryland is suing drug makers for sparking, “unprecedented opioid addiction,” through deceptive marketing of their painkillers. -
Could Cayuga County join others in opioid lawsuit?
Feb 9, 2018 | Auburn Pub (NY)
By Gwendolyn Craig
Since at least September the Cayuga County Legislature has considered joining a multi-county lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies selling opioids. This month, it may actually do so. -
Lewis County takes a second look at opioid lawsuit
Feb 8, 2018 | North County Public Radio (NY)
By Lauren Rosenthal
In a reversal, Lewis County has decided to prepare for a possible lawsuit against prescription drug manufacturers. -
Westchester County Sues Drug Makers Over Opioid Crisis
Feb 9, 2018 | The Loop (NY)
By Staff
Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s next-door neighbor’s son died of an opioid overdose. Latimer says it impacted him greatly. -
Saco the latest Maine community to join lawsuit against opioid makers
Feb 8, 2018 | Bangor Daily News (ME)
By Liz Gotthelf
The city of Saco has become one of the latest municipalities to file a lawsuit suing pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and distribute opioids. -
New Castle County joins legal fight against big pharma’s role in opioid crisis
Feb 8, 2018 | Delaware Business Times (DE)
By Christi Milligan
New Castle County has hired the law firm Motley Rice to explore taking action against the pharmaceutical industry for its role in the opioid crisis. -
City of Gary files suit against opioid manufacturers
Feb 8, 2018 | Northwest Indiana Times (IN)
By Lauren Cross
Gary is the latest local government to join Hammond, Lake County and dozens of others across the country in suing opioid manufacturers and distributors for their roles in the opioid addiction crisis. -
City of Gary files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors
Feb 9, 2018 | The Chicago Crusader (IL)
By Staff
The City of Gary is facing the ever-escalating costs associated with combatting the opioid epidemic. In continued efforts to confront this crisis, the City filed a complaint in Lake County Superior Court on January 29, 2018 seeking to recover damages for use of public resources to fight the opioid epidemic. -
Lawsuits claim opioid distributors fail to report suspicious orders
Feb 9, 2018 | Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly (IN)
By Chelsea Bouirisse
Area opioid producers and distributors could find themselves in court as local officials call for more accountability from these companies in connection to the current opioid crisis. -
Geauga County suing opioid makers, distributors
Feb 8, 2018 | The News-Herald (OH)
By Tracey Read
Geauga County is the latest government to use the court system to fight the opioid epidemic. -
County to file lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors
Feb 8, 2018 | The Bimidji Pioneer (MN)
By Matthew Liedke
Beltrami County Attorney David Hanson got the go-ahead Tuesday to select a firm and file a lawsuit against national opioid manufacturers and distributors. -
La Crosse County likely to join opioid lawsuit
Feb 9, 2018 | La Crosse Tribune (WI)
By Randy Erickson
La Crosse County likely will join the growing number of counties and municipalities suing drugmakers, distributors and doctors over the nation’s opioid drug crisis. -
Bondi Continues To Prepare For Potential Opioid Lawsuit
Feb 8, 2018 | WUSF (FL)
By Stephanie Colombini
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is continuing to prepare for a potential lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. -
Alachua, Osceola counties take aim at opioid manufacturers
Feb 8, 2018 | The Gainesville Sun (FL)
By Cleveland Tinker
County officials want to benefit from any settlements made as a result of ongoing litigation against the pharmaceutical industry. -
Mecklenburg County files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers
Feb 8, 2018 | WBTV (NC)
By Staff
Government officials in Mecklenburg County filed a lawsuit against several drug manufacturers and distributors Thursday. -
Mecklenburg Co. files lawsuit in fight against opioid epidemic
Feb 8, 2018 | WSOC TV (NC)
By Staff
Mecklenburg County leaders officially filed a lawsuit Thursday against pharmaceutical companies blamed for the opioid crisis. -
Athens-Clarke County sues drug makers amid opioid overdose crisis
Feb 8, 2018 | The Atlanta Georgia Constitution (GA)
By Jeremy Redmon
Athens-Clarke County this week joined three other Georgia counties in suing drug makers and distributors, alleging they helped fuel the nation’s deadly opioid overdose epidemic through racketeering, deceptive trade practices and false advertising. -
H'burg Joins Opioid Action
Feb 8, 2018 | Hub City Spokes (MS)
By Buster Wolfe
Hattiesburg became the first city in the state Tuesday to join a national lawsuit aimed at recovering damages against the drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors “responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic.” -
CN opioid lawsuit moving into state court
Feb 8, 2018 | Tahequah Daily Press (OK)
By Staff
The Cherokee Nation lawsuit against opioid distributors and retail pharmacies has moved to Oklahoma state court. -
Cherokee Nation refiles opioid lawsuit in Sequoyah County Court
Feb 9, 2018 | KJRH (OK)
By Tony Russell
The Cherokee Nation is continuing its fight against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers. -
Van Zandt county officials file lawsuit to fight opioid addiction in East Texas
Feb 9, 2018 | East Texas Matters (TX)
By Steffon Nickson
Another East Texas county has joined the fight to end opioid addiction in the area. Van Zandt County officials announced Thursday that they are filing a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry. -
Pueblo County might lawyer up over opioid abuse
Feb 9, 2018 | Colorado Politics (CO)
By Dan Njegomir
Remember those lawsuits filed by the states against Big Tobacco back in the ’90s? Well, state and local governments have trained their sights — and their lawyers — on a new, common scourge: opioid abuse. And as with the tobacco industry, there once again are some deep pockets to go after — the pharmaceutical industry that manufacturers the opium derivatives in question. -
Drug Industry Wages Opioid Fight Using an Anti-Addiction Ally
Feb 8, 2018 | The New York Times
By Michael Corkery & Katie Thomas
As Minnesota lawmakers prepared to push a proposed tax on opioid sales in November, the pharmaceutical industry lobbyists who opposed the bill set up a meeting with its sponsors, and they brought an unusual guest: Jessica Hulsey Nickel, a prominent anti-addiction advocate in Washington. -
Sens. Unveil Bill Aimed At Curbing Opioid Crisis
Feb 8, 2018 | Law360
By Emily Field
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced Thursday that they are introducing legislation aimed at stemming the opioid crisis, during a hearing focusing on the epidemic’s devastating impact on children and families. -
Congress’s budget deal doesn’t do enough to fight the opioid crisis (EDITORIAL)
Feb 9, 2018 | Vox
By German Lopez
Congress may soon commit some cash to an opioid epidemic that has caused hundreds of thousands of drug overdose deaths since the late 1990s. But experts aren’t convinced the money will be enough — or if it will even go to the right solutions. -
Trump wants to get mean with “drug pushers” in opioid crisis — but what about Big Pharma?
Feb 8, 2018 | Salon Magazine
By Nicole Karlis
President Donald Trump has a new idea for how to combat America’s opioid crisis — one that requires us, unsurprisingly, to get “mean” and “tough.” Indeed, in a speech in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Feb. 5, Trump proposed harsher treatment of “drug pushers” and “drug dealers” as a means of fighting the opioid epidemic that killed more than 42,000 Americans in 2016. -
Congressional panel wants better cooperation in opioid investigation
Feb 9, 2018 | Herald Dispatch (WV)
By Staff
Congressional representatives in Washington, D.C., this week called for better cooperation from government agencies as they prepare for Feb. 26 congressional hearings on the role of prescription drug distribution in the opioid epidemic. -
Cuomo plans NY tax change to avoid $1.5B hit on taxpayers
Feb 9, 2018 | Associated Press
By Chris Carola
Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to separate the state's tax rates from the federal rates to keep New Yorkers from a $1.5 billion income tax increase, the Democrat's top budget official testified Thursday during a budget hearing. -
How Are Pharma Stocks Affected by Opioid Lawsuits?
Feb 8, 2018 | Investing News
By Gabrielle Lakusta
Over 250 federal lawsuits across the US are currently holding pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid epidemic jointly demanding billions of dollars, according to an ABC News article. Though most of these companies are worth billions, these legal proceedings are still causing stock prices to drop as more lawsuits are announced. -
Good Day Atlanta 9:00am
Feb 9, 2018 | WAGA (Fox)
By Atlanta, GA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594279?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
News 8 This Morning
Feb 9, 2018 | WKBTDT2 (MyNetwork TV)
By La Crosse, WI
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594286?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
FOX 51 Good Day 7:30a
Feb 9, 2018 | KFXK (Fox)
By Tyler, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594296?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
WTVA 9 News on WLOV
Feb 9, 2018 | WLOV (Fox)
By Columbus-Tupelo-W Pnt-Hstn, MS
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594301?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
KOCO 5 News at 6am
Feb 9, 2018 | KOCO (ABC)
By Oklahoma City, OK
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594307?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
2News Works for You Today 5A
Feb 9, 2018 | KJRH (NBC)
By Tulsa, OK
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594318?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
WBTV News at 5:30am
Feb 9, 2018 | WBTV (CBS)
By Charlotte, NC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594319?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
WJCL 22 News at 11
Feb 9, 2018 | WJCL (ABC)
By Savannah, GA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594323?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
7 News at Noon
Feb 8, 2018 | WWNY (CBS)
By Watertown, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594329?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
WDVM News at 12:00 pm
Feb 8, 2018 | WDVM (WDVM)
By Washington, DC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594336?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715 -
14 News at Midday
Feb 8, 2018 | WFIE (NBC)
By Evansville, IN
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594338?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
MDL
Northeast (MD, NY, ME, DE)
Midwest (IN, OH, MN, WI)
Southeast (FL, NC, GA, MS)
Southwest (OK, TX)
West (CO)
Commentary and FYIs
Broadcast Media Coverage
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Opioid Judge Doesn't Want The Media To Know Details Of Settlement Talks
Feb 8, 2018 | Forbes
By Daniel Fisher
The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors has named the teams of lawyers who will try to negotiate a settlement of hundreds of federal lawsuits - a complex task given parallel investigations and litigation by state attorneys general and potentially conflicting goals of private attorneys and their government counterparts.
In a second order this week, U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster then warned everybody involved to “maintain strict confidentiality” about settlement discussions. Attorneys can confirm they’ve met, Polster said, “but nobody is to disclose to the media or any other outside party the contents of the discussions, or to provide the media assessments or commentary regarding those discussions.”
There were no surprises in the negotiating teams, which largely mirrored Judge Polster’s earlier appointment of lead counsel. For the plaintiffs – more than 200 towns, cities, counties and other entities including union pension funds – Polster appointed Joe Rice, of Motley Rice; Paul Hanly of Simmons Hanly Conroy; Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser; Troy Rafferty of Levin Papantonio; Paul Geller of Robbins Geller; Chris Seeger of Seeger Weiss; and Russell Budd of Baron & Budd.
Judge Polster said he selected the negotiating teams in response to requests from the attorneys on both sides. All of the plaintiff lawyers represent firms already named as lead counsel in the judge’s earlier order. The negotiating team doesn’t include a representative of Morgan & Morgan, the Florida firm that objected to a proposed leadership team in December but was later included as part of the executive committee.
In its December objection, Morgan & Morgan described a first attempt by MDL plaintiff attorneys to select their own leaders as “a scripted performance” in which a self-appointed group of lawyers “unilaterally announced and unveiled the pre-ordained proposed slate they had internally chose in some undisclosed manner.”
For the manufacturers’ team, Judge Polster named a collection of well-known defense litigators in product liability and false claims cases: Sheila Birnbaum of Quinn Emmanuel, Steven Reed of Morgan Lewis, Charles C. Lifland of O’Melveny & Myers, Jonathan Stern of Arnold & Porter, Mark Filip of Kirkland Ellis, Brien T. O’Connor of Ropes & Gray and J. Matthew Donohue of Holland & Knight.
For the distributors he named Enu Mainigi of Williams & Connolly, Geoffrey Hobart of Covington & Burling, Jack Smith of Flaherty, Sensabaugh & Bonasso, and Robert Nicholas of Reed Smith.
The judge also named representatives for two groups of attorneys general who are investigating and suing the opioid industry. For the multistate group of 41 states that is coordinating an investigation into the sale and distribution of opioids, he named Jennifer Peacock of the Tennessee AG’s office. For the smaller group of states that have already sued the industry, he named Tad Robinson O’Neill of the Washington AG’s office.
The orders reflect Polster’s clearly stated goal of achieving a global settlement of opioid claims which, in his words, “dramatically reduce the number of opioids that are being disseminated, manufactured and distributed.”
One complication is that as a federal judge, he has no power over state AGs and a limited ability to influence state court litigation. But since the same plaintiff lawyers are involved in state and federal cases, they have a strong financial incentive to strike a bargain that ends all litigation and rewards them with a percentage of the recovery in fees.
Plaintiff lawyers no doubt wish to recreate the success of the multistate settlement with the tobacco industry in 1998, in which private lawyers operating under contingency fee contracts with the states won more than $10 billion in fees.
Such an outcome in this case might be difficult, however, given the relatively small sales revenue of opioid manufacturers and the fact their products were legally sold only by a doctor’s prescription. The lawyers are likely to focus on larger and better capitalized distributors including McKesson and Cardinal Health, using evidence they are trying to obtain from the Drug Enforcement Administration showing millions of pills were shipped to tiny towns where the population couldn’t possibly justify the demand.
Settlement discussions also may be complicated by the fact the manufacturers and distributors will seek an injunctive solution, such as stricter controls on how the drugs are dispensed. That may mesh with the goals of state and federal officials, but won’t yield the fees private lawyers are entitled to under their contracts with cities and counties.
The parties held their first settlement conference in Polster’s Cleveland courtroom on Jan. 31. The next settlement conference is scheduled for March 6.
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Harford to begin interviewing law firms to pursue suit against opioid manufacturers, distributors
Feb 9, 2018 | Baltimore Sun (MD)
By Erika Butler
Harford County is moving forward with its lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors but still has to work out its details, a county government spokesperson said this week.
A team of the county administration, including County Attorney Melissa Lambert and Director of Administration Billy Boniface, will be meeting over the next couple weeks with law firms to interview them and then make recommendations to Harford County Executive Barry Glassman about going forward with the lawsuit, Cindy Mumby said.
“This will determine which firm to use, which outside counsel,” she said.
In his State of the County Address in January, Glassman announced the county’s intention to file suit against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their alleged roles in spurring an abuse crisis that has reached epidemic proportions.
Harford has reached out to some of the other counties in Maryland that are also suing drug manufacturers and some firms have contacted the county, Mumby said.
“We’ve invited them to meet with us,” she said.
Outside counsel is necessary “because of the complexity and time-consuming nature of this type of litigation,” Mumby said.
Among the topics to be discussed when the county meets with these firms will include potential strategies for the lawsuit.
“The goal is to recoup costs in Harford County to combat the heroin crisis,” Mumby said. “We do believe our costs will run into the millions.”
Those millions include county funds budgeted in recent years. Glassman allocated $100,000 in fiscal year 2016 for treatment and prevention, doubled it to $200,000 the next fiscal year and increased it to $250,000 for this fiscal year.
It also includes money spent by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and the Harford County Health Department in their efforts to fight the deadly epidemic, she said.
“There may be others, but it’s at least those,” Mumby said.
It’s too early to provide any type of timeline for filing a suit, she said.
“We’re just beginning this process,” Mumby said.
Multiple Maryland counties are filing suits against drug makers and distributors. Anne Arundel and Cecil counties have filed separate suits and Baltimore and Howard counties are at similar points as Harford in their efforts to file lawsuits.
When Glassman announced Harford’s intent, a representative of the national trade association for prescription drug distributors, the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, countered the accusations.
“As distributors, we understand the tragic impact the opioid epidemic has on communities across the country,” John Parker, a senior vice president, said in an emailed statement Wednesday. “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. “
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COUNTY FILES SUIT AGAINST OPIOID MANUFACTURERS
Feb 8, 2018 | The Sentinel (MD)
By Neal Earley
Montgomery County is suing 14 manufactures and distributors of prescription opioids as part of the county’s efforts to combat the growing nationwide opioid addiction crisis, County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) announced Wednesday. Attorneys filed the suit Wednesday in federal court because it is the most appropriate venue to address the devastating effect the opioid addiction crisis has had on the County.
“The opioid crisis is wreaking severe damage on individuals and communities throughout our great nation – and Montgomery County is not immune,” Leggett said. “Just ask the first responders in our Fire & Rescue Service and our Police. Ask our front-line personnel in Health & Human Services. We are talking about addiction, death, broken lives and broken families.”
In December the County announced it had retained the law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP as outside counsel in the County’s suit against the opioid manufacturers and distributors. Mark Dearman, a partner with Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, said opioid manufacturers and distributors have broken laws against false advertising by promoting their drugs as less addicting and less dangerous than they actually are, and have also violated federal controlled substance laws by not reporting suspicious sales.
“Robins Geller is here to assist Montgomery County with that task,” Dearman said. “We are here to assist in the abatement of the harm and devastation that this county experienced and other cities have experienced.”
The County has filed suit against 14 opioid manufacturers and distributors around the world: Purdue Pharma LP; Cephalon, Inc.; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.; Endo International PLC; Endo Health Solutions Inc.; Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Jansen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of; Insys Therapeutics, Inc. of: Mallinckrodt PLC of the; Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals of; AmerisourceBergen Corporation; Cardinal Health, Inc. and McKesson Corporation.
Dearman said the County is seeking money for damages from the opioid crisis, but does not have a particular number in mind, saying the main point of the lawsuit is to get opioid manufacturers and distributors to change their behavior.
Montgomery County is the latest of many jurisdictions across the country that have filed similar lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors, including counties and cities in Ohio, Mississippi, South Carolina, Missouri, New Mexico, Arizona and Illinois. Leggett said because opioid addiction has caused severe financial hardships for the County, particularly with the budgets for police, fire and rescue, and health and human services, the lawsuit is a way for the County to be compensated for the increased expenditures related to the crisis.
Helen Najar, a Bethesda resident who lost her daughter Kelly O’Connor to a heroin overdose after developing an addition to painkillers, said she believes the cost of the opioid crisis should be paid by the manufacturers and distributors of opioid medications and not the County.
“It’s about time we make the pharmaceuticals accountable,” Najar said.
Najar, who is a member of Surviving Our Ultimate Loss, a group of people who lost family members to drug overdoses, said membership has skyrocketed due to the increasing number of overdoses from opioids.
“Our group has more than double in size since I joined only a year and half ago,” she said. “We continue to get new members every month.”
Montgomery County’s lawsuit is not the first attempt to bring attention to the opioid crisis in Maryland. In May, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) declared a “state of emergency” in response to the opioid epidemic across the state. In the speech, Hogan announced the state would spend an additional $50 million over the next five years to combat the crisis through prevention and treatment.
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Maryland’s Most Populous County Sues Drug Makers For Spreading Addiction And Death
Feb 8, 2018 | The Daily Caller
By Steve Birr
The most populous county in Maryland is suing drug makers for sparking, “unprecedented opioid addiction,” through deceptive marketing of their painkillers.
Officials with Montgomery County filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court Tuesday, targeting a number of the nation’s largest manufacturers and distributors of opioid painkillers including Purdue Pharma, Cephalon, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Cardinal Health. They allege the companies deceived the public and doctors on the addiction risksof their drugs and failed to report suspicious pill orders, reports The Washington Post.
Montgomery County lost 117 residents to opioid overdoses in 2016, up from only 27 in 2010. County officials want the pharmaceutical industry on the hook for the rising public costs of fighting the overdose epidemic.
“It is critical that we hold responsible the manufacturers and distributors whose negative actions have significantly contributed to the crisis,” Isiah Leggett, county executive, told The Washington Post.
Pharmaceutical companies have previously denied any claims of wrongdoing and say they are committed to working with the government to solve the opioid epidemic.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution,” a spokesman for Purdue Pharma previously told The Daily Caller News Foundation in response to a lawsuit filed by the attorney general of New Jersey. “We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”
Lawsuits are mounting against the largest drug makers in the country for their alleged complicity in sparking the opioid crisis through dishonest advertising. There are currently more than 75 cities and states suing pharmaceutical companies over the destructive addiction crisis.
Nationally, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death for Americans under age 50, killing 63,600 people in 2016.
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Could Cayuga County join others in opioid lawsuit?
Feb 9, 2018 | Auburn Pub (NY)
By Gwendolyn Craig
Since at least September the Cayuga County Legislature has considered joining a multi-county lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies selling opioids. This month, it may actually do so.
The lawsuit, which was originally filed by Nassau County, seeks to recoup costs to municipalities associated with drug addiction and overdoses. Onondaga County has already joined, and Cayuga County Administrator J. Justin Woods said Westchester County has also recently signed on.
A draft resolution will come before next week's Government Operations Committee that would enter the county into a legal agreement with a law firm and execute all necessary paperwork "to implement and join litigation against Opiate manufactures."
The potential litigation was briefly discussed at the Legislature's Thursday night Health and Human Services Committee meeting. Legislator Tim Lattimore brought the matter to the table.
"I'm just saying, timing is everything, and I don't want the clock to run out on us, and we won't be part of the suit," Lattimore said.
Cayuga County Attorney Fred Westphal said he did not think time was an issue. Westphal said the main thing he is waiting on for the draft resolution is which law firm to enter into an agreement with.
The Government Operations Committee listened to the presentations of three law firms involved in the litigation in October. More than half of the committee members wanted to move forward with a recommendation, but that was later pushed aside. Legislators continued to discuss the lawsuit over the coming weeks, but were concerned about the amount of staff time it would take to collect data on how opioids have affected the community.
Last year's elections, Woods pointed out, swapped out legislators so now the body can move forward with everyone on the same page. Cayuga County Director of Community Services Ray Bizzari said he expected other counties would be signing onto the lawsuit.
Government Operations is scheduled to meet 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 in Caucus Room 1 of the Cayuga County Office Building, 160 Genesee St., Auburn.
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Lewis County takes a second look at opioid lawsuit
Feb 8, 2018 | North County Public Radio (NY)
By Lauren Rosenthal
In a reversal, Lewis County has decided to prepare for a possible lawsuit against prescription drug manufacturers.
The county's board of legislators voted this week to hire Simmons Hanly Conroy. That's the same national law firm that's already suing drug companies on behalf of St. Lawrence County and close to a dozen others in the state of New York.
Lawyers argue that prescription painkillers — and deceptive marketing practices by the companies who made them — helped fuel the opioid epidemic that's sweeping the state. Addiction is a big problem for Lewis County, but until now, local lawmakers didn't want to sue over it. They voted against hiring lawyers at a meeting back in November 2017.
At the time, Republican Mike Tabolt said drug companies weren't entirely to blame for the problem of addiction. "What about the doctors," asked Tabolt. "Aren't they accountable, too? And what about the people who get hooked on drugs? Most of them start with alcohol. Why don’t we go after the breweries and distilleries?
Since then, several Lewis County lawmakers have either left the board or changed their minds about whether a lawsuit is appropriate. At a meeting this week, Republican Jerry King said he's come around to the idea.
"The only thing I would like to comment on is, if we do win this lawsuit and get the money, we need to make sure we get the money where it's going to help the people," King said, adding that any settlement should be used to combat addiction — and should not be placed in the county's general fund.
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Westchester County Sues Drug Makers Over Opioid Crisis
Feb 9, 2018 | The Loop (NY)
By Staff
Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s next-door neighbor’s son died of an opioid overdose. Latimer says it impacted him greatly.
Now, Westchester County has filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers to recover damages for the use of public resources to fight the opioid epidemic.
The county is suing more than 30 drug manufacturers and distributors, claiming they intentionally misled the public about the dangers of pain pills like oxycodone and Percocet, and aggressively marketed them purely for profit.
WCBS reports Attorney Paul Napoli said the drug companies “negligently market to doctors. They changed the story about science to try to expand the number of people that were going to be their customers.”
The county is seeking to recoup money spent on law enforcement prevention, treatment, and education on the dangers of the drugs.
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Saco the latest Maine community to join lawsuit against opioid makers
Feb 8, 2018 | Bangor Daily News (ME)
By Liz Gotthelf
The city of Saco has become one of the latest municipalities to file a lawsuit suing pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and distribute opioids.
The ease with which prescription opioids can be obtained as a result of campaigns by drug companies to make them readily prescribed for common aches and pains has led many people to be become addicted to drugs, said Saco City Administrator Kevin Sutherland in a written Saco City Council commentary.
“Opiate drug companies have enjoyed enormous profits with the sales of opiate drugs, promoting them relentlessly among physicians and paying doctors to promote these drugs at conferences, while failing repeatedly to successfully tailor the drugs to make abuse impossible,” wrote Sutherland.
The city’s fire department responded to 97 suspected illegal or prescription drug overdoses in 2017. The department also administered 55 individual doses of Narcan in that year. More than one dose may have been used on an individual patient, according to the city.
“In order to treat and abate the opioid epidemic, the city has needed to shift resources that could have otherwise been used for various improvements and the general betterment of the city,” wrote Sutherland.
The cities of Saco and Biddeford in a joint effort created the Saco Biddeford Opiate Outreach Initiative with the help of a state grant. Between the end of January 2017 and January 2018, the program’s outreach worker connected with 366 people. Of these, 123 people were placed in treatment.
The Saco City Council voted Monday night to engage the services of law firms Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC of New York City and Trafton, Matzen, Belleau and Frenette of Auburn.
Other municipalities, including Biddeford, Bangor and Portland, have filed similar lawsuits.
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New Castle County joins legal fight against big pharma’s role in opioid crisis
Feb 8, 2018 | Delaware Business Times (DE)
By Christi Milligan
New Castle County has hired the law firm Motley Rice to explore taking action against the pharmaceutical industry for its role in the opioid crisis.
“The conduct of multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical companies has caused significant pain and cost so many New Castle County families the lives of their loved ones,” County Executive Matt Meyer said. “We cannot rest until those causing this are held to account and required to contribute to real solutions.”
Attorney General Matt Denn last month filed a lawsuit against major drug manufacturers, alleging they misled consumers and doctors about the potential danger and addictive power of opioid-based pain medicine.
New Castle’s response, so far, has focused on improving treatment services and the ability of first responders to help addicts.
New Castle County secured money for its Hero Help Program, an around-the-clock real-time provider of addiction treatment services. In September, Meyer and County Council members committed funding to purchase 600 doses of the overdose-reversal drug Narcan for the county’s 21 volunteer fire companies.
Motley Rice previously secured $246 billion in the tobacco Master Settlement with large cigarette companies. It also handled civil litigation surrounding the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
“We have chosen Motley Rice because of its track record of securing landmark outcomes in some of the most significant health, environmental and consumer fraud litigations in state and federal courts over the past generation,” Meyer said. “We intend to move as quickly as possible over the coming weeks to work with the firm to gather information before making a decision about appropriate next steps.”
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City of Gary files suit against opioid manufacturers
Feb 8, 2018 | Northwest Indiana Times (IN)
By Lauren Cross
Gary is the latest local government to join Hammond, Lake County and dozens of others across the country in suing opioid manufacturers and distributors for their roles in the opioid addiction crisis.
In light of escalating costs to combat the city's opioid epidemic, the city of Gary on Jan. 29 filed a complaint in Lake Superior Court seeking to recover damages for use of public resources to fight the problem.
“I have seen addiction as a deputy prosecutor, defense attorney, drug court judge and Indiana Attorney General. We understand the scourge of addiction created by illegal drugs. To think that legal drugs have been manufactured and distributed in a way that increases and risks the harm to citizens of Gary and other communities is unconscionable," said Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson.
The complaint — which includes more than 25 defendants — alleges that manufacturers, distributors and other entities intentionally mislead the public about the dangers of opioids, according to a news release.
The complaint outlines the history of how defendants downplayed the risks associated with OxyContin, Fentanyl and Percocet while aggressively marketing them.
"This negligent behavior has led to a significant increase in the City’s budgets for law enforcement, emergency care, first responder overtime, Narcan training and prevention and treatment programs. There will be no cost to City taxpayers with this filing," the city's news release states.
Hospitals in the state of Indiana have seen a 60-percent increase in non-fatal drug overdoses from 2011 to 2015, with deadly overdoses rising by an average of 3.5 percent each year, according to a report from the Indiana State Department of Health.
Indiana has also seen an increase in children placed in foster care because of parents’ addiction.
Many lawsuits across the country, including those filed by Hammond and Lake County governments, have been consolidated with dozens of other similar lawsuits Dec. 5 in the U.S. District Court of Northern Ohio.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution,” a spokesman for Purdue Pharma previously told The Daily Caller News Foundation in response to a lawsuit filed by the attorney general of New Jersey. “We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”
Lawsuits are mounting against the largest drug makers in the country for their alleged complicity in sparking the opioid crisis through dishonest advertising. There are currently more than 75 cities and states suing pharmaceutical companies over the destructive addiction crisis.
Nationally, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death for Americans under age 50, killing 63,600 people in 2016.
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City of Gary files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors
Feb 9, 2018 | The Chicago Crusader (IL)
By Staff
The City of Gary is facing the ever-escalating costs associated with combatting the opioid epidemic. In continued efforts to confront this crisis, the City filed a complaint in Lake County Superior Court on January 29, 2018 seeking to recover damages for use of public resources to fight the opioid epidemic.
The complaint which includes over 25 defendants, alleges that the manufacturers, distributors and other entities intentionally mislead the public about the dangers of opioids. The complaint outlines the history of how these defendants downplayed the risks associated with opioids such as OxyContin, Fentanyl and Percocet while aggressively marketing them. This negligent behavior has led to a significant increase in the City’s budgets for law enforcement, emergency care, first responder overtime, Narcan training and prevention and treatment programs. There will be no cost to City taxpayers with this filing.
Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said: “I have seen addiction as a deputy prosecutor, defense attorney, drug court judge and Indiana Attorney General. We understand the scourge of addiction created by illegal drugs. To think that legal drugs have been manufactured and distributed in a way that increases and risks the harm to citizens of Gary and other communities is unconscionable. As Mayor, I have a responsibility to protect our resources and there is no doubt in my mind that the citizens in this community are our most treasured commodity. We are excited to have an experienced and aggressive legal team fighting for our citizens.”
As a direct result of the opioid and eventual heroin epidemic more than 17,000 Americans died from prescription opioids in 2015 and the number continues to steadily grow, specifically in places such as the City of Gary, Indiana. Hospitals in Indiana have seen a 60 percent increase in non-fatal drug overdoses from 2011 to 2015, with deadly overdoses rose by an average of 3.5 percent each year, according to a report from the Indiana State Department of Health. Indiana has also seen an increase in the number of children placed in foster care because of their parents’ addiction.
Paul J. Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik, the firm the City has partnered with in this endeavor said: “We are committed to working with the City in their fight against the makers of these dangerous and addictive painkillers.”
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC is uniquely positioned to take on the complex task of pursuing opioid litigation on behalf of government entities. The firm has a long and distinguished history of representing counties, cities, and other municipalities. It also has expertise in pharmaceutical litigation. Numerous state and federal courts across the country have appointed Napoli Shkolnik to leadership positions in many of the largest pharmaceutical cases ever filed and the firm has been involved in nearly every major pharmaceutical mass tort case over the last two decades.
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Lawsuits claim opioid distributors fail to report suspicious orders
Feb 9, 2018 | Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly (IN)
By Chelsea Bouirisse
Area opioid producers and distributors could find themselves in court as local officials call for more accountability from these companies in connection to the current opioid crisis.
Allen County has filed a federal lawsuit against multiple manufacturers of opioids including Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma and Endopharmaceuticals. The county filed on Jan. 5 in the federal court of northern Indiana following a unanimous decision from the Allen County Commissioners on Dec. 15 to pursue this legal action.
The remainder of this article is under paywall at: http://www.fwbusiness.com/news/latest/businessweekly/article_dd91fabb-d999-5544-a7d4-9c7d576068ee.html
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Geauga County suing opioid makers, distributors
Feb 8, 2018 | The News-Herald (OH)
By Tracey Read
Geauga County is the latest government to use the court system to fight the opioid epidemic.
County commissioners have agreed to file a federal lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
The lawsuit will allege that pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors did not follow federal rules over the escalating use of opioids by Ohio residents.
Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz recommended commissioners hire Cleveland-based Spangenberg, Shibley & Liber to investigate whether any manufacturers or distributors of opioids violated federal reporting requirements. Firm lawyers will work for the county on a contingency basis, meaning a fee — calculated as a percentage of any money awarded — will be charged only if the suit is successful.
Common Pleas Judge Forrest W. Burt signed an order Feb. 7 allowing the county to move forward with the suit.
“It is a great privilege to serve the community in standing against these manufacturers that have pushed an agenda of drug dependency,” Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri said.
Commissioner Walter “Skip” Claypool added that Geauga County resources — including law enforcement, mental health, hospitals, Job and Family Services and the court system — are strained due to the crisis.
“I am honored to join my fellow commissioners and the prosecutor in taking this action in an attempt to make a difference,” Claypool said. “This is a long-term action that hopefully will lead to recovering some much-needed resources and curbing behavior of those who contribute to this problem.”
Commissioner Timothy C. Lennon said he hopes the suit will help future generations.
“Opioid addiction has been a fire burning wildly out of control for over a decade, all while the drug manufacturers and distributors have pocketed billions, leaving the taxpayers the tab to clean up this mess” he said.
Similar suits filed in counties including Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Lake and Lorain counties remain pending.
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County to file lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors
Feb 8, 2018 | The Bimidji Pioneer (MN)
By Matthew Liedke
Beltrami County Attorney David Hanson got the go-ahead Tuesday to select a firm and file a lawsuit against national opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Beltrami County now joins numerous other local governments in what Hanson described as a multi-district court litigation. The litigation, Hanson told the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, is akin to a class action lawsuit. However, where a class action has all the plaintiffs get together on a single suit, multidistrict litigations remain separate.
"The way it works is they have a panel and makes an assessment, they say 'We're getting a whole bunch of these lawsuits filed on the same type of case, so we'll assign a single judge,'" Hanson said. "It's a situation where there are a lot of benefits and very few costs. If there is a settlement, we would stand to get a sizable sum of money dedicated to fighting opioid addiction."
Hanson said the first lawsuit filed will get in front of the judge first. In that scenario, the first suit goes to trial, and possibly the second, but Hanson said after that settlements begin, based on the outcome of the first lawsuits that went to trial.
"From my perspective, whether or not we think the manufacturers are 100 percent liable is almost irrelevant, because in the civil world, you can have a verdict saying an entity is, say, 60 percent liable for damages," Hanson said.
According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, in 2016, Minnesota health care providers wrote 3.5 million prescriptions for opioids. In many of the lawsuits already filed, the Pioneer Press reports that attorneys are alleging the flood of pills is due to a dishonest campaign going back to the late 1990s to convince doctors that opioids were not addictive. Data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that 395 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016.
"When it comes to the liability of the manufacturers, they knowingly misrepresented their product. They said the chances of an average person getting addicted to the meds was near zero," District 2 Commissioner Reed Olson said. "They pushed that really hard, knowing it wasn't true. I strongly feel they will be found liable, because they told our doctors to push this."
"Right now, the crisis that's hitting the U.S., especially rurally, is a large heroin epidemic. That's what's killing people," Hanson said. "Part of the allegations in these suits are that these companies got people addicted to opioids, then the Center for Disease Control comes in and restricts the distribution in the hospitals, and now you have so many people still addicted that it creates this black market heroin problem."
For the county to file its own lawsuit as others have done, Hanson said there will be basically no monetary cost, but some labor will be required by staff.
"The firm takes on the risk. They're saying 'We think this is such a strong lawsuit that we're willing to risk not getting paid anything if we lose,'" he said. "If we as the county were to win the suit, the firm gets 25 percent of whatever we settle for. The one spot where the county could see a cost is in labor. If we do file a lawsuit, we would be expected to help that firm produce discovery. Those records would have to be those that our departments have in-house."
"If it's not going to cost us anything, why wouldn't we put our name on the lawsuit and be listed in there," District 5 Commissioner Jim Lucachick said. "I'm in favor of it from what I've heard today."
"I've seen firsthand how the opioids have affected my community, so I'd be in favor of this," District 4 Commissioner Tim Sumner said. "I'm all for looking for ways to try and address the social issues that we have here in the county, and I feel this will help some of those that we face."
The commissioners gave authority for Hanson to move forward with the pursuing the matter by approving their consent agenda Tuesday. So far, Hanson said about 12 other Minnesota counties have filed lawsuits. Several American Indian tribes also have filed lawsuits.
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La Crosse County likely to join opioid lawsuit
Feb 9, 2018 | La Crosse Tribune (WI)
By Randy Erickson
La Crosse County likely will join the growing number of counties and municipalities suing drugmakers, distributors and doctors over the nation’s opioid drug crisis.
The La Crosse County Board’s Executive Committee voted unanimously Thursday morning to join more than 60 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties in a suit to hold the defendants responsible for their part in a drug abuse epidemic that is killing an estimated 150 Americans daily. The full county board is expected to vote on the matter at its meeting Feb. 15.
County officials first began discussing joining other Wisconsin counties suing drugmakers in December. They were hesitant to join for fear that demands for documentation of actual damages from the defendants would mean too much extra work for county staff members, diverting them from actually dealing with the widespread effects of the opioid crisis.
At Thursday’s meeting, county corporation counsel Megan DeVore said she had spoken with representatives of the legal team recommended by the Wisconsin Counties Association as well as a Twin Cities legal firm and was assured that the discovery process wouldn’t be a problem.
“Generally, I feel at this time comfortable recommending going ahead with the litigation,” DeVore said. “The burden of discovery is not going to be as great as we initially thought it was going to be. … Both firms made us comfortable that there would be adequate support to get through that discovery process.”
Documenting the financial damages experienced by the county related to opioid abuse might not even be necessary, DeVore said, because the Ohio judge overseeing a consolidation of at least 180 lawsuits is pushing hard for a negotiated settlement that wouldn’t require that sort of digging on the part of the plaintiffs.
And if La Crosse County did end up being a test case among the Wisconsin counties suing, DeVore added, the law firm would pay assistance with that documentation process.
States, counties and local governments have filed suits against Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and other companies, accusing them of misleading doctors and consumers about the addictive nature of opioids such as OxyContin. 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.
Last week, initial settlement discussions began behind closed doors in the Cleveland courtroom of 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.
Polster will oversee the next session of settlement negotiations March 6.
La Crosse County still has time to become part of the litigation if it approves the hiring of the multi-firm legal team at its meeting next week, according to DeVore. There is no cost to the county to join the lawsuit and no cost if the plaintiffs are unsuccessful. The legal team will recover its costs and take 25 percent of any damages or
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Bondi Continues To Prepare For Potential Opioid Lawsuit
Feb 8, 2018 | WUSF (FL)
By Stephanie Colombini
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is continuing to prepare for a potential lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.
Florida is one of many states considering taking legal action against drug makers for damages related to the rising health care and law enforcement costs of the opioid crisis.
“The pharmaceuticals [companies] - I firmly believe of course - have a lot to bear,” Bondi said. “The distributors who are distributing this junk to our kids, to our families – it’s out there, it’s everywhere.”
Bondi spoke outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office in downtown Tampa Wednesday after she attended a speech by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on national efforts to combat opioid addiction.
She said Florida has not sued the drug companies she blames for helping start the crisis, yet, because it's working with other states to try and reach a settlement.
"Do I see us getting anywhere? No,” Bondi said. “So we've now set an application process for outside counsel to come in – that period has closed, and we're going to be interviewing within the next couple weeks."
Bondi hasn't said what it would take her to convince her to actually move forward with the state’s own legal action.
Meanwhile the number of cases municipalities are filing against opioid makers is growing almost daily.
This week, Osceola County signed on to a national lawsuit against more than 20 pharmaceutical companies, making it the first county in Florida to sue.
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Alachua, Osceola counties take aim at opioid manufacturers
Feb 8, 2018 | The Gainesville Sun (FL)
By Cleveland Tinker
County officials want to benefit from any settlements made as a result of ongoing litigation against the pharmaceutical industry.
Though Alachua County hasn’t been as hard hit as some communities by the opioid epidemic, it has filed a complaint against pharmaceutical makers and distributors.
The complaint, which names those in the pharmaceutical industry from manufacturers to individual doctors, was filed Jan. 30 with the Florida Eighth Judicial Circuit by Attorney Joseph Ciaccio of Napoli Shkolnik, a New York-based law firm that specializes in opioid and pharmaceutical litigation.
County officials want to benefit from any settlements made as a result of ongoing litigation against the pharmaceutical industry by local governmental entities throughout the nation, said Alachua County Commissioner Robert Hutchinson, a longtime advocate for substance abuse and mental health issues locally.
It was imperative the county file its lawsuit because if the state of Florida files a similar lawsuit, the county will still be able to collect its share of any settlement reached between pharmaceutical companies and local governments. If the county had waited until after the state files a similar suit, the county would have to depend on the state to give it money from a settlement, Hutchinson said.
“We want to be at the table when the final settlement is reached,” he said.
The county has had to spend tax dollars because of the opioid epidemic, including the medical examiner’s office having to increase its budget for tests to find out the cause of deaths, an increase in opioid-related emergency calls and an increase in the use of Narcan, an expensive medication used to block the effects of opioids, especially in overdose situations, Hutchinson said.
Like the nearly 100 lawsuits filed by Napoli Shkolnik on behalf of counties and the several they have filed on behalf of cities throughout the nation, the Alachua County complaint alleges the manufacturing defendants used deceptive marketing and advertising to convince the medical community that long-term opioid use was safe, Ciaccio said.
“As a result, communities have experienced significant harm related to opioid use,” he said.
According to the most recent Medical Examiners Commission Drug Report, roughly 200,000 people in 2016 died from opioids in Florida. The Gainesville-based District 8 medical examiner’s office reported 96 deaths from opioids like heroin, fentanyl, methodone, Oxycodone and others in 2016, according to the report.
The district includes Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union counties.
The ongoing lawsuits against those in the pharmaceutical industry accused of being responsible for the opioid epidemic are both similar to and different from those filed against tobacco companies in the late 1990s, Ciaccio said.
The similarities are that defendants in both matters are extremely profitable companies accused of using deceptive marketing practices and hiding the truth about the harmful effects of long-term use of their products, Ciaccio said.
They’re different because the impact the opioid epidemic has had on local communities is many times more severe than tobacco use, Ciaccio said.
Ciaccio, like Hutchinson, said those impacts include increased costs to local governments, as well as the human loss, pain and suffering caused by opioids.
“Nobody ever had to be taken to the emergency room because of a tobacco overdose,” Ciaccio said.
The lawsuits against tobacco companies were spearheaded mostly by states, and when the multibillion dollar settlements were reached, little of that money “trickled down to local communities,” Ciaccio said.
Local governments have led the way in the current lawsuits involving the pharmaceutical industry, Ciaccio said.
Alachua and Osceola counties have hired Napoli Shkolnik to represent them in lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, and are the only two counties in Florida that have filed such suits, though several are considering doing so, Ciaccio said.
There is no way to calculate how much money the county could see if a decision is reached in its favor, but it is safe to say it will be “a substantial sum,” Ciaccio said.
Local governments are seeking recovery for resources to end opioid addictions, Ciaccio said.
Cases in federal and state courts are being monitored by Judge Daniel Poster in Cleveland, Ohio, in hopes of solving what’s likely to be a complicated issue, according to legal experts.
Ciaccio and Hutchinson both said any settlement money would go toward funding social service programs dealing with children, intervention and prevention, substance abuse and more, as well as to cover increased health care and law enforcement.
“It’s not just about getting a lump sum of money from a settlement,” Hutchinson said. “The county needs to be able to recoup the costs the opioid epidemic has had on our community, as well as get money to pay for treatment and other programs to help people get back on track with their lives.”
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Mecklenburg County files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers
Feb 8, 2018 | WBTV (NC)
By Staff
Government officials in Mecklenburg County filed a lawsuit against several drug manufacturers and distributors Thursday.
The lawsuit states that Mecklenburg County officials are seeking to recover damages as a result of the opioid epidemic they claim the manufacturers caused.
Mecklenburg County is joining several other states and counties including Gaston County and Burke County who have also filed lawsuits against the manufacturers of prescription opioids.
The 88-page lawsuit claims that "county governments and the services they provide their citizens have been strained to the breaking point by this public health crisis."
Officials say North Carolina and Mecklenburg County are in the midst of this crisis according to reported statistics.
According to the lawsuit, "in 2016 112 people died from opioid-related death, nearly doubling the number of deaths the year before."
There are currently more than 300 lawsuits filed by cities and counties nationwide against opioid manufacturers.
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Mecklenburg Co. files lawsuit in fight against opioid epidemic
Feb 8, 2018 | WSOC TV (NC)
By Staff
Mecklenburg County leaders officially filed a lawsuit Thursday against pharmaceutical companies blamed for the opioid crisis.
The 88-page lawsuit stated that opioid addiction and overdoses in the United States have reached epidemic levels over the past decade.
In North Carolina, opioid-related deaths increased by over 800% between 1999 and 2016, according to the lawsuit.
The documents went on to say that in 2016 at least 112 people died of opiate overdoses in Mecklenburg County, which nearly doubles the number of deaths in 2015.
Emergency room visits related to opioid overdoses also increased in Mecklenburg County, going from 263 in 2015 to 340 in 2016, the lawsuit said.
Apart from the toll on human lives, Mecklenburg County leaders said that the crisis has financially strained resources in Mecklenburg County, such as human services, social services and law enforcement services.
The lawsuit said the Mecklenburg County’s medical examiner has even said its morgue needs to add more storage spaces in its coolers to handle the increased number of opioid deaths.
Mecklenburg County leaders have said that they will not pay any legal fees unless they win money in the lawsuit.
Burke County leaders filed a similar lawsuit last week against manufacturers and distributors of opioids. Gaston County commissioners are also considering filing a lawsuit against the opioid industry.
There are 300 lawsuits nationwide filed against the opioid industry.
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Athens-Clarke County sues drug makers amid opioid overdose crisis
Feb 8, 2018 | The Atlanta Georgia Constitution (GA)
By Jeremy Redmon
Athens-Clarke County this week joined three other Georgia counties in suing drug makers and distributors, alleging they helped fuel the nation’s deadly opioid overdose epidemic through racketeering, deceptive trade practices and false advertising.
In 2016, 1,394 Georgians died from drug overdoses. And between 2006 and 2016, there were 116.8 opioid prescriptions per 100 people in Athens-Clarke County, according to the lawsuit.
The unified city-county government is seeking unspecified damages to cover its expenses for medical care, drug treatment and law enforcement.
“The manufacturers aggressively pushed highly addictive, dangerous opioids, falsely representing to doctors that patients would only rarely succumb to drug addiction,” Athens-Clarke County says in its 176-page lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Athens.
“These pharmaceutical companies aggressively advertised to and persuaded doctors to prescribe highly addictive, dangerous opioids, [turning] patients into drug addicts for their own corporate profit.”
DeKalb and Fulton counties have filed similar suits in recent months. The Athens law firm of Blasingame, Burch, Garrard and Ashley is representing Candler and Athens-Clarke counties, and it expects to file similar lawsuits on behalf of other Georgia counties and hospitals in the coming weeks. Candler filed its suit last month.
More than 20 drug makers and distributors are targeted by the latest lawsuit, including Purdue Pharma, which markets OxyContin. Purdue released a statement Thursday denying the allegations.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution,” Purdue spokesman John Puskar said in a prepared statement. “As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to (Food and Drug Administration-approved) medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge.
“Although our products account for approximately 2 percent of the total opioid prescriptions, as a company, we’ve distributed (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, developed the first FDA-approved opioid medication with abuse-deterrent properties and partner with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone.”
Naloxone is a drug often used in treating overdoses.
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Feb 8, 2018 | Hub City Spokes (MS)
By Buster Wolfe
Hattiesburg became the first city in the state Tuesday to join a national lawsuit aimed at recovering damages against the drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors “responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic.”
The City Council unanimously voted during its Tuesday meeting to contract with attorneys in the lawsuit, although no taxpayer funds will be used to pay the attorneys. A percentage of the funds that come out of the lawsuit will go to the attorneys’ fees.
Mayor Toby Barker said the battle against opioid addiction is a major concern.
“I think it’s going to be one of the most important fights in our generation,” he said after the City Council meeting. “When you see just the rapid escalation of how big of a problem this is, when you see how close it hits to home, when you see how it threatens the public safety of our community and will continue to do this until something is done to curb this, it is critically important public issue right now.”
The lawsuit is aimed at the companies that control 85 percent of the market for prescription opioids and profited from the widespread use of the opioids.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least two opioid prescriptions were dispensed for every person – no matter what age – in Forrest County in 2016. The Forrest County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to also file suit against these same companies because of the opioid epidemic in its January meeting.
Opioid abuse has become the leading cause of death for people younger than 50 and the total economic burden of the opioid epidemic is estimated at $78.5 billion.
Barker said the opioid epidemic has touched many people.
“I think all of us know someone individually who has been impacted or has a family member who has been impacted by the opioid epidemic,” he said. “We want to make sure that we are trying to secure every resource available, first of all, for the education of all ages on what these drugs can do and how addictive they are; secondly, help our law enforcement as they seek to combat this at a street level and, finally, for long-term treatment options.
“We have a gap in treatment options right now in a lot of recovery programs. As people are trying to get sober and stay in recovery. That process takes more than 30 days. To have treatment options out there, there are damages where they can go to provide those resources in our community.”
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CN opioid lawsuit moving into state court
Feb 8, 2018 | Tahequah Daily Press (OK)
By Staff
The Cherokee Nation lawsuit against opioid distributors and retail pharmacies has moved to Oklahoma state court.
The suit was originally filed in tribal court, but a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, saying the tribe lacked jurisdiction to file against the companies in its own court. But CN attorneys say jurisdiction shouldn't be an issue now, as the tribe's legal team has filed the suit in the District Court of Sequoyah County, part of the 14-county CN area.
The petition states the Sequoyah County court has jurisdiction because the defendants conducted business in or around Sequoyah County and throughout Oklahoma. It also claims the defendants purposefully directed their activities at Cherokee Nation and its citizens.
The petition charged McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., AmerisourceBergen, CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. with causing and perpetuating the epidemic of opioid prescription drug abuse that is "devastating" individuals and families in the Cherokee Nation. The lawsuit seeks financial compensation for the health care, social services, law enforcement, and other significant costs the opioid crisis has imposed on the CN.
“The defendants prevented this case from being heard in the Cherokee Nation Tribal Court, but no matter where this case is heard the facts will clearly demonstrate the damage these defendants have inflicted on the Cherokee Nation and its people,” said CN Attorney General Todd Hembree.
The lawsuit demands that the companies change their behavior and meet "legal and moral obligations" to ensure that powerful prescription opioid painkillers are provided only to individuals with a legitimate medical need for the drugs.
“The defendants have delayed, but not avoided, a public examination of their role in creating the opioid epidemic that has caused devastating harm across the country – especially in the Cherokee Nation,” said William Ohlemeyer of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, counsel to the Cherokee Nation. “We are prepared to present our evidence in the Oklahoma state court and look forward to holding the defendants accountable for their wrongdoing. If the defendants believe they have done no wrong, there should be no reason for them to seek any further delay of this litigation.”
“The misconduct of these companies has fueled the opioid epidemic throughout our country, and the impact is particularly acute in the Cherokee Nation,” said Richard Fields of Fields PLLC, counsel to the Cherokee Nation. “We look forward to proceeding quickly so that justice is no longer delayed for the Cherokee Nation.”
Tribal officials say opioid distributors and retail pharmacies have a legal responsibility to monitor the flow of prescription opioid drugs, to recognize suspicious orders and the “red flags” that indicate these drugs are being diverted into illicit channels of distribution and use, and to not ship or fill suspicious orders or red flag prescriptions for the drugs.
Suspicious orders and red flags include pharmacy orders for opioids that increase suddenly or are disproportionate to the community served by the pharmacy; prescriptions presented by patients who live far from a pharmacy or that are written by physicians outside the community; multiple prescriptions from different doctors presented by the same patient; opioid prescriptions presented with prescriptions for other drugs, such as benzodiazepine, that are tell-tale signs of drug abuse; and patterns of employee theft. When suspicious orders or prescriptions for opioid drugs are filled, highly dangerous substances are diverted into the hands of unauthorized users and the illegal black market, fueling the opioid epidemic.
In 2015, prescription opioids killed 22,598 people in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health, and over 2.75 billion milligrams of opioids were distributed according to the DEA. An estimated 845 million milligrams – or approximately 360 to 720 pills per year for every prescription opioid user in the Cherokee Nation – were distributed in the 14 counties of the CN. Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, deaths from opioid-related overdoses more than doubled within the Cherokee Nation between 2003 and 2014. Overdose deaths outnumber deaths due to car accidents for adults.
This filing in Oklahoma comes after the defendants persuaded the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma to enjoin the case from proceeding in tribal court. The Cherokee Nation also filed a motion to dismiss its case in tribal court.
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Cherokee Nation refiles opioid lawsuit in Sequoyah County Court
Feb 9, 2018 | KJRH (OK)
By Tony Russell
The Cherokee Nation is continuing its fight against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
The tribe just refiled its case in Sequoyah County District court after a federal judge ordered the case thrown out of tribal court.
2 Works For You spoke with Tiger Mountain Recovery for Women in Henryetta.
Of the 11 in the 90-day recovery program, 6 are recovering from opioid addiction.
The group is monitoring the new developments in the Cherokee Nation's case.
“Steps have to be taken, there’s going to be those moments where things don’t work out, but as long as they keep taking steps I think that’s the important part,” said Kristan Miller-Stevenson, who works at Tiger Mountain Recovery for Women.
The Cherokee Nation filed this latest lawsuit over a week ago.
The summons said the drug corporations, distributors and retailers named in the suit have to respond in 20 days.
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Van Zandt county officials file lawsuit to fight opioid addiction in East Texas
Feb 9, 2018 | East Texas Matters (TX)
By Steffon Nickson
Another East Texas county has joined the fight to end opioid addiction in the area. Van Zandt County officials announced Thursday that they are filing a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry.
They hope to win monetary damages that officials want to put back into the county's budget to balance the resources they've used to crack down on opioid abuse.
Van Zandt County is being represented by a team of Dallas and Tyler based lawyers on the matter.
KETK and FOX 51 will continue to follow the case as Van Zandt joins Nacogdoches and other counties in efforts to end the opioid epidemic across East Texas.
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Pueblo County might lawyer up over opioid abuse
Feb 9, 2018 | Colorado Politics (CO)
By Dan Njegomir
Remember those lawsuits filed by the states against Big Tobacco back in the ’90s? Well, state and local governments have trained their sights — and their lawyers — on a new, common scourge: opioid abuse. And as with the tobacco industry, there once again are some deep pockets to go after — the pharmaceutical industry that manufacturers the opium derivatives in question.
So, places that have been hit hard by opioid abuse are signing onto litigation, and Pueblo County — arguably, ground zero in Colorado’s epidemic — might get on board. Reports the Pueblo Chieftain’s Peter Roper:
Pueblo County is likely to join Huerfano County and others nationally that are suing the major pharmaceutical companies for damages, arguing the over-prescribing of opioid prescription drugs contributed to the thousands of heroin overdose deaths and other damages from that drug.
“Unless someone can show us strong reasons not to participate, I think we probably will take action and file suit,” Commissioner Terry Hart said … “We have ample evidence in our county of the damage and harm that’s come from overdose deaths and other costs caused by the use of heroin and fentanyl.”
Roper notes:
Huerfano County announced its decision to sue last week and filed a lawsuit in Denver district court that is part of a larger “multi-district” action being handled by Stephen Ochs, a Denver doctor and lawyer who now specializes in suing medical companies.
If the movement gels and gains momentum, look for massive settlements — someday, perhaps — on the scale of the anti-tobacco lawsuits that eventually showered money on the states.
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Drug Industry Wages Opioid Fight Using an Anti-Addiction Ally
Feb 8, 2018 | The New York Times
By Michael Corkery & Katie Thomas
As Minnesota lawmakers prepared to push a proposed tax on opioid sales in November, the pharmaceutical industry lobbyists who opposed the bill set up a meeting with its sponsors, and they brought an unusual guest: Jessica Hulsey Nickel, a prominent anti-addiction advocate in Washington.
Ms. Nickel told the lawmakers that she took no position on the tax and was simply offering her group’s resources to help fight the state’s drug epidemic. But her presence along with five representatives from the industry’s trade group raised eyebrows among the Minnesota lawmakers, who believed that drug companies needed to be held accountable for the prescription opioid crisis — not embraced as an ally.
“She was insisting that she was totally independent and they hadn’t put any strings on her,” said State Senator Chris Eaton, one of the bill’s sponsors. “I wasn’t buying it.”
Two weeks later, Ms. Nickel’s ties to the industry grew even deeper when her advocacy group, the Addiction Policy Forum, announced in mid-December that it had accepted funding from the trade group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA.
While she is open — and unapologetic — about accepting money from the pharmaceutical group, Ms. Nickel declined to disclose exactly how much PhRMA had donated to her group. “It is our preference to talk about the patients and the families and not focus on the numbers,” she said.Continue reading the main story
Stephen J. Ubl, the trade group’s chief executive, said in an interview that it was in the “tens of millions,” over multiple years, a heady influx of cash for a nonprofit group whose annual donations and grants totaled $4.7 million last year.
Ms. Nickel insisted that her group was not beholden to PhRMA in any way. The drug industry, she said, should be viewed as a partner in fighting addiction, not an adversary. She said the funding would help her group provide vital services like an online resource center for patients struggling with addiction and training for doctors treating overdoses.
Still, PhRMA’s donation to Ms. Nickel’s group is roiling the anti-addiction world — where there are varying approaches to the drug problem and a fight over scarce sources of funding.
“You cannot hold an organization accountable if they are paying your bills,” said Lexi Reed Holtum, executive director of the Steve Rummler HOPE Network, which advocates on addiction issues in Minnesota. Ms. Holtum said she respected Ms. Nickel’s intentions but worried about the risks of teaming up with an industry with a self-serving agenda.
The partnership with Ms. Nickel also sheds light on the industry’s efforts to shape the perception of its role in the nation’s opioid epidemic, which President Trump has called a “national health emergency.” By enlisting a prominent advocate as a partner, PhRMA is trying to position the industry on the right side of a health crisis that many blame it for creating.
The drug industry is a formidable force in state and federal politics, investing hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lobbyists, campaign donations and public relations campaigns. In 2017, PhRMA spent close to $26 million on lobbying at the federal level, hiring 169 federal lobbyists to work on its behalf, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Its donation to the Addiction Policy Forum was the centerpiece of what PhRMA described in December as a “major commitment” to addressing the opioid crisis. It unveiled a set of policy proposals that include supporting seven-day limits on opioid prescriptions for acute pain, and announced a partnership with the federal government on initiatives to battle addiction.
“We feel very strongly about trying to do our part,” Mr. Ubl said.
At the same time, drugmakers are fighting to protect their profits in the face of measures such as the proposed tax in Minnesota. Gross sales of narcotic painkillers totaled $8.6 billion in 2016, according to IQVIA, a health care analytics company.
Activists and lawmakers, however, are stepping up their pressure on the industry. Last month, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proposed a similar tax in New York. At least six other states have considered an opioid tax over the past year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Dozens of cities and counties have sued opioid manufacturers and distributors, mirroring the legal strategy that extracted billions from the tobacco companies to offset health-associated costs from smoking.
This week, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont called for pharmaceutical executives to testify before Congress about what they knew of the addictive properties of prescription opioids.
The industry says much of the current problem is being driven by illicit use of street drugs like heroin, and not prescription drugs. Some advocates are skeptical of the industry’s motives.
“The industry is making investments, trying to influence policymakers that this is not a problem of overprescribing opioids,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, a co-director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. “They are investing in nonprofit groups that will do the same.’’
In Ms. Nickel, the pharmaceutical industry has found an advocate who combines firsthand knowledge about addiction with Beltway policy savvy.
Growing up in Southern California, Ms. Nickel was the child of parents who struggled with drug addiction, she said. She escaped that world, got into Princeton and then entered public service. She went to work with Barry McCaffrey, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Bill Clinton, and later served as a legislative aide to Senator Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, while he was in the House.
Ms. Nickel also started her own lobbying firm, whose clients included nonprofit groups and Alkermes, a drug company that makes a medication that helps treat opioid addiction.
The impetus for her nonprofit group, which has about 30 employees, was to empower families that are losing loved ones to opioids, Ms. Nickel said.
She said her $4.7 million in funding last year had come from a “diverse set of foundations, federal grants, corporate sponsors and individual donors,” including PhRMA and the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2016, the group’s funding totaled $573,000.
“No one has cured a disease by making an enemy of the white lab coats,” Ms. Nickel said in an interview. “Sometimes our resistance to working with new partners is an old way of thinking.”
Her group includes a network of thousands of families around the country. Doug Griffin, who lost his daughter to an overdose and now volunteers for the Addiction Policy Forum in New Hampshire, said he welcomed the donation from PhRMA.
“If someone asks me, ‘Are you mad at pharma for your daughter’s death?’ I tell them no,” Mr. Griffin said. “These kids had free rein of our medicine cabinets.”
In Minnesota, Ms. Eaton and a fellow state lawmaker, State Representative Dave Baker, see things differently. Like Mr. Griffin, they each lost a child to fatal overdoses, but they want the industry to pay for what they view as its role in the addiction crisis.
Their tax proposal would have raised about $20 million for addiction programs in Minnesota, but the measure faced stiff opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. Some state legislators said they felt “bullied” by pharmaceutical lobbyists to oppose the bill, according to Senator Tina Smith, the former Minnesota lieutenant governor who replaced Al Franken.
In late November, PhRMA set up the meeting with the bill’s sponsors as a sort of olive branch. But Ms. Eaton and Mr. Baker said they viewed Ms. Nickel’s presence as part of the industry’s effort to dissuade them.
Ms. Nickel said she had not read the bill and had no intention of killing it. “I walked into a meeting maybe I didn’t belong in not to talk about taxes but to talk about building resources for families in crisis in Minnesota,” she said.
Ms. Nickel said she had moved ahead with establishing programs in Minnesota, regardless of whether the two state lawmakers decide to join her efforts.
Mr. Baker described Ms. Nickel’s intentions as “true and honest and good,” but said PhRMA’s decision to highlight and support her work in Minnesota struck him as too much of a coincidence.
“Sure, I’ve got my guard up,” he said. “Why weren’t they here 10 years ago?”
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Sens. Unveil Bill Aimed At Curbing Opioid Crisis
Feb 8, 2018 | Law360
By Emily Field
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced Thursday that they are introducing legislation aimed at stemming the opioid crisis, during a hearing focusing on the epidemic’s devastating impact on children and families.
The bill, Advancing Cutting-Edge Research Act, is aimed at giving the National Institutes of Health more flexibility in funding research on new treatments for pain management and opioid addiction. Introduced by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Todd Young, R-Ind.; and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., the proposed bill would give the NIH director the authority to approve research projects, allowing the agency to partner with companies to research ways to tackle the opioid epidemic.
“[NIH Director] Dr. Francis Collins has predicted that the development of a new, non-addictive painkiller could be achieved within five years with consistent funding and more flexible authority to conduct the necessary research,” Alexander said in a statement. “This legislation builds on the 21st Century Cures Act by giving the NIH even more flexibility to conduct research to address the opioid crisis, for example by entering research contracts more quickly or partnering with innovative companies.”
The proposed bill comes a day after the Senate approved a $300 billion two-year budget deal that includes $6 billion to counter the effects of the opioid epidemic.
Earlier in the day, the Senate health committee heard from health care and child welfare workers about the toll of the opioid epidemic on the nation’s families and children.
One woman, nurse Becky Savage, described finding her two oldest sons dead from overdoses one morning in 2015 in their home in Indiana. Nick and Jack Savage, 19 and 18, had come home the night before with friends from a graduation party, where they had consumed alcohol and prescription painkillers. Savage found Jack unresponsive in his room on the morning of June 14, 2015; downstairs, Nick’s friends were trying to wake him up.
“Our kids were talked to about drugs and underage drinking and knew that it was wrong. So why would they take a prescription that did not belong to them?” Savage said. “Prescription drug misuse and abuse was not even on our radar two and a half years ago, and therefore never discussed with our children.”
The Savage family has since gone on to start the 525 Foundation, named for the brothers’ hockey numbers, that provides outreach to high schools.
Young shared a video of Savage's testimony via Twitter on Thursday.Another witness, neonatologist Dr. Stephen W. Patrick of Vanderbilt University, spoke about the rapid increase in recent years of babies born addicted to opioids, or neonatal abstinence syndrome.
“Every day, people are dying, pregnant women are not getting the treatment they need and infants are spending their first days or weeks of life in drug withdrawal,” Patrick said. “In just the time we are meeting here, eight infants will be born with neonatal abstinence syndrome and 10 people will die from an overdose.”
The committee also heard from Dr. William Bell, head of Casey Family Programs, a foundation focused on reducing the need for foster care, about the impact of the epidemic on children and the foster care system.
After years of decline in the national foster care population, there has been a steady increase in the number of children in foster care since 2012, according to Bell. At least 35 percent of the children placed in foster care were taken away from parents addicted to substances, he said, and that’s likely an underestimate.
“This impact may be even higher for American Indians and Alaska Natives, who are at least twice as likely as the general population to become addicted to drugs and alcohol, and three times as likely to die of a drug overdose,” Bell said. -
Congress’s budget deal doesn’t do enough to fight the opioid crisis (EDITORIAL)
Feb 9, 2018 | Vox
By German Lopez
Congress may soon commit some cash to an opioid epidemic that has caused hundreds of thousands of drug overdose deaths since the late 1990s. But experts aren’t convinced the money will be enough — or if it will even go to the right solutions.
A new two-year budget deal, which the House and Senate are expected to pass soon, would dedicate$6 billion over two years to the crisis — $3 billion in fiscal year 2018 and another $3 billion in fiscal year 2019. That’s in addition to existing opioid-related funding, including the $1 billion over fiscal years 2017 and 2018 that Congress dedicated to the opioid epidemic in the 21st Century Cures Act.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the $6 billion ”will fund new grants, prevention programs, and law enforcement efforts in vulnerable communities all across our country.” If the budget framework passes, the specifics of how the money will be appropriated will be worked through over the next six weeks, a spokesperson with the Senate Appropriations Committee explained.
This is all very vague — a fact that has some experts on edge, even if they’re cautiously optimistic. “This is very good news and a big deal if it’s wisely directed,” Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University drug policy expert, told me. “Of course, the odds of that are lower when something is thrown together rather than being assembled through a deliberative process.”
The funding also falls short of the tens of billions that many experts believe is necessary to deal with the opioid crisis. For reference, a 2016 study estimated the total economic burden of prescription opioid overdose, misuse, and addiction at $78.5 billion in 2013, about a third of which was due to higher health care and addiction treatment costs. So even an investment of tens of billions could save money in the long run by preventing even more in costs.
“It’s not enough,” Andrew Kolodny, an opioid policy expert at Brandeis University, told me when asked about the new spending deal. “Over two years, I think we need at least $12 billion for opioid addiction treatment” — an estimate he reached by calculating how much it would cost to provide low-threshold, effective outpatient addiction treatment in every county in the US.
Sarah Wakeman, an addiction medicine doctor and medical director at the Massachusetts General Hospital Substance Use Disorder Initiative, agreed. She drew a comparison to the HIV/AIDS crisis, which at its peak in the US in 1995 caused fewer deaths than the current drug overdose crisis does annually.
“It’s hard to imagine $6 billion being enough, especially when you think about the annual budget for other illnesses like HIV, which is $32 billion,” she said. “But even more than the amount, I worry most about the details. Investing $6 billion in interventions like greater criminalization would be not only ineffective but actually harmful. In contrast, $6 billion toward on-demand treatment, for example with buprenorphine or methadone, could result in lifesaving impact even though it wouldn’t be enough money.”We know how to tackle the opioid crisis. But it requires money.
The research backs up Wakeman. Studies have found that “tough on crime” efforts have little impact on drug use; a 2014 review of the research by Peter Reuter at the University of Maryland and Harold Pollack at the University of Chicago, for example, concluded that prohibition does make drugs more expensive and therefore less accessible, but more stringent measures — such as harsh police crackdowns or longer prison sentences — have no significant effect beyond that of prohibition.
Meanwhile, the research shows that opioid addiction medications, such as buprenorphine and methadone, cut mortality among opioid addiction patients by half or more — making them the gold standard in opioid addiction care. So if deployed on a broader scale, this treatment has the potential to literally save thousands of lives.
America currently falls far short of that widespread access to treatment. According to a 2016 reportby the surgeon general, just 10 percent of Americans with a drug use disorder obtain specialty treatment, in large part due to a lack of supply in care. And other data shows that even when drug addiction treatment is available, fewer than half of facilities offer medications like methadone and buprenorphine as an option.
As I previously explained, more treatment alone won’t be a silver bullet, and it won’t solve the crisis overnight. But it could be part of a broader public health approach, one that also includes pulling back too-lax access to opioid painkillers (while keeping the drugs accessible to patients who truly need them) and harm reduction efforts such as safe injection sites. That combination of policies, experts argue, will help end or at least slow down the crisis.
But to get such efforts going, cities, counties, and states need more money — much more than Congress’s current budget deal will apparently include.
Democrats have put out proposals to this end, aiming to add tens of billions to deal with the crisis over the next several years. But the proposals haven’t moved through Congress — failing to pick up much support from congressional Republicans or President Donald Trump.
Still, even the $6 billion would help address a serious public health crisis: In 2016, there were nearly 64,000 drug overdose deaths in the US — an all-time high — and at least two-thirds were linked to opioids. 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.
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.
Anything that helps mitigate these statistics is, experts say, good. But $6 billion isn’t enough, and there are big questions about what exactly the money that Congress is promising will go to.
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Trump wants to get mean with “drug pushers” in opioid crisis — but what about Big Pharma?
Feb 8, 2018 | Salon Magazine
By Nicole Karlis
President Donald Trump has a new idea for how to combat America’s opioid crisis — one that requires us, unsurprisingly, to get “mean” and “tough.” Indeed, in a speech in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Feb. 5, Trump proposed harsher treatment of “drug pushers” and “drug dealers” as a means of fighting the opioid epidemic that killed more than 42,000 Americans in 2016.
Specifically, Trump said:
Creating good jobs is also an important part of fighting the drug epidemic that has affected millions of Americans, bringing new hope to struggling communities. And it’s gotten to a point where it’s never been worse.
People form blue ribbon committees, they do everything they can. And, frankly, I have a different take on it. My take is, you have to get really, really tough — really mean — with the drug pushers and the drug dealers. We can do all the blue ribbon committees we want. We have to get a lot tougher than we are. And we have to stop drugs from pouring across our border.
Trump using the opioid crisis as a way to gain support for the border wall is nothing new, but it’s a slap in the face to the victims and their families who have been hurt by the epidemic. The “drug pushers” and “drug dealers” are merely middlemen, small-time players, compared to the biggest dealers of all: pharmaceutical companies.
According to data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prescription opioid sales nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2014; during this timespan, overdose deaths from prescription opioids increased as well. While opioid prescriptions should only be prescribed to cancer patients, or those with pain-related diagnosis, only an estimated one out of five fit the bill. Overdose deaths from opioid prescriptions were fives times higher in 2016 than they were in 1999, and overall, 40 percent of all U.S. opioid overdose deaths involved prescription drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse found that half of young people who inject heroin abused opioid prescriptions first; in other words, opioid prescriptions are often a gateway to heroin. In addition to an increase in opioid-prescription deaths, the number of opioids sold to pharmacies and hospitals nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2010, according to CDC data. Horrifyingly, large pharmaceutical companies profit off these deaths and addictions.
Yet Trump seems to believe the crisis is purely a result of Mexican drug dealers. Yes, heroin does travel across the border. According to additional CDC data, “increased availability, relatively low price (compared to prescription opioids), and high purity of heroin in the U.S. also have been identified as possible factors in the rising rate of heroin use.” According to data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the amounts of heroin confiscated at the southwest border quadrupled from 2008 to 2013, but that's not what's driving 1,000 people a day to emergency rooms across the country for misusing opioid prescriptions.
Even though Trump declared the opioid crisis a "health emergency," his actions have spoken louder than words. Per Politico earlier this week, Kellyanne Conway is now in charge of dealing with opioids, and the White House is allegedly telling experts that they're not welcome on his committee to deal with the crisis.
Now, hope for combatting the crisis lies in state and civic policy — as it looks like we can't count on the federal government for help.
Some cities like New York, and states like Missouri, are already taking matters into their own hands and suing the manufacturers and distributors of opioid prescription drugs. Big pharmaceutical companies involved in these various lawsuits include Purdue Pharma LP and Johnson & Johnson.
“More New Yorkers have died from opioid overdoses than car crashes and homicides combined in recent years. Big Pharma helped to fuel this epidemic by deceptively peddling these dangerous drugs and hooking millions of Americans in exchange for profit,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “It’s time for hold the companies accountable for what they’ve done to our City, and help save more lives.”
In regards to drug prices, Trump once said the "drug companies, frankly, are getting away with murder."
Indeed, President Trump, pharmaceutical giants are getting away with actual, non-metaphorical murder when it comes to peddling opioids.
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Congressional panel wants better cooperation in opioid investigation
Feb 9, 2018 | Herald Dispatch (WV)
By Staff
Congressional representatives in Washington, D.C., this week called for better cooperation from government agencies as they prepare for Feb. 26 congressional hearings on the role of prescription drug distribution in the opioid epidemic.
The congressional Energy and Commerce Committee is continuing its investigation into the opioid epidemic.
Bipartisan leaders held a press conference Tuesday ahead of the Feb. 26 hearings, during which they said the Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Justice are being uncooperative with their investigation, despite numerous requests for basic information, Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said.
"We worked with the DEA at every turn, believing that we could be partners in this effort. We should be partners in this effort. But to our surprise and dismay, DEA has all but stonewalled our investigation," Walden said. "We are done waiting for their cooperation."
Walden said the original purpose of the committee's probe of the DEA was to gain a better understanding of key systems.
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Cuomo plans NY tax change to avoid $1.5B hit on taxpayers
Feb 9, 2018 | Associated Press
By Chris Carola
Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to separate the state's tax rates from the federal rates to keep New Yorkers from a $1.5 billion income tax increase, the Democrat's top budget official testified Thursday during a budget hearing.
Budget Director Robert Mujica told lawmakers during the joint Senate and Assembly hearing on taxes that Cuomo plans to detail the proposal in an amendment to the spending plan he released last month. He said the governor proposes to decouple the state tax code from the federal government's, a move that would restore deductibility many New Yorkers stand to lose under the new federal tax overhaul.
"This issue was created in Washington, but we can fix it in New York," Mujica said.
Under the new federal rules, the state stands to receive $1.5 billion in additional tax payments. Most of the new money would be paid by taxpayers who can no longer take advantage of former deductions.
Last month, the Republican-controlled Senate passed highly technical legislation that would tweak the state's tax rules to separate it from the federal tax code. The Senate bill would restore many of the deductions New York taxpayers will lose at the state level under the new federal tax plan.
Major changes included in the recent tax overhaul in Washington will have a significant impact on the state's own tax code, but the specifics are something Cuomo administration officials and the Legislature are still trying to figure out.
During the four-hour hearing lawmakers also questioned state officials about $1 billion in new taxes and fees included in Cuomo's $168 billion budget proposal.
The new taxes include a $127 million levy on opioid manufacturers to pay for costs associated with the addiction crisis in many New York communities. Republican lawmakers voiced concern that consumers will bear eventually bear the costs of that plan if the companies raise prices on their painkillers.
Mujica said tax rates for corporations and individuals have gone down in New York. But Republican Sen. James Tedesco, of Schenectady County, said high tax rates keep driving people out of the New York, threatening to make it the "Empty State" instead of the Empire State.
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How Are Pharma Stocks Affected by Opioid Lawsuits?
Feb 8, 2018 | Investing News
By Gabrielle Lakusta
Over 250 federal lawsuits across the US are currently holding pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid epidemic jointly demanding billions of dollars, according to an ABC News article. Though most of these companies are worth billions, these legal proceedings are still causing stock prices to drop as more lawsuits are announced.
Case in point, the New York Times reported on January 23 that New York City mayor Bill de Blasio filed lawsuits totaling roughly $600 million against a number of drug companies, Purdue Pharma, a privately held company, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries (NYSE:TEVA), Cephalon, Janssen Pharmaceuticals–which is subsidy of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Endo International (NASDAQ:ENDP), and Allergan (NYSE:AGN), among others.
The cause of these lawsuits the city wants to hold the pharmaceutical companies responsible for the millions of dollars in costs related to the opioid epidemic. On February 6, ABC News reported that lawsuits, like the one Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall said Purdue, “violated a state law against deceptive marketing practices and created a drug-related public nuisance.”
One of the companies with the most serious allegations, which includes bribing doctors and lying to medical insurance companies, is Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics (NASDAQ:INSY). The drug involved in the lawsuits was Subsys (fentanyl sublingual spray). It was developed for cancer patients to deal with pain who become opioid-tolerant from other drugs—like morphine. In 2013, sales of Subsys increased 719 percent from the fourth quarter of 2012 resulting in a high return for investors, in 2013.
The first lawsuit against Insys was announced in February 2016, directly from its purchasers with the law firm Kessler Topaz & Check. By October 2017, John N. Kapoor and fellow colleagues of Insys were charged with pushing prescriptions of the drug, according to CBC News.
As cities and states picked up on what Insys had been doing, it has been linked to the outpour of abuse and overdose deaths related to opioids and fentanyl, which has lead to the influx of lawsuits filed between 2016 and 2018.
“At a time when the opioid epidemic was ravaging New York, Insys Therapeutics allegedly marketed a drug illegally by blatantly disregarding the grave risks of addiction and death that opioids pose,” attorney General Schneiderman said in the statement.The opioid epidemic at a glance
In 2016, about 64,000 people died in the US from drug overdoses, the top three drugs responsible for the deaths are all opioids including fentanyl, heroin, and prescription opioids, according to the National Vital Statistics System. Many patients initially prescribed opioids for pain—anything from sports injuries to the late stages of cancer—became addicted and turned to illegal opioids when their prescription was up.
For most of these cases, especially with the attorney generals, they alleged the pharmaceutical companies failed to warn prescribers and patients about the addictive qualities of the drug. Or, in some cases the companies bribed doctors to prescribe the harmful drugs, and lied to healthcare insurance companies to avoid additional authorization, according to a Times Union article.
The intention for the money from the most of these lawsuits is to make up for the financial damage done to the health sector and community and address opioid addiction, but the Atlantic reported, “there may be no way to guarantee that states are using the money to address opioid addiction,” and added some skeptics see the lawsuits as political campaigns only. Not all of these lawsuits are equal, many are targeting Insys specifically and others are focused on a broader range of pharmaceutical company that carry opioid products.Impact on share prices
Investors picked up on the high sales and shares of Insys skyrocketed by 903.49 percent from $2.50 in January 2013 to reach $28.56 by January 2016, according to Google Finance. Through all those years Subsys was the main revenue pushing growth for the company.
Negative articles about Insys marketing behaviour began coming out in 2015, the first was an article by Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation. After every article published the stock price would drop further, nearly 50 percent after just four articles. Most of the articles published outlined the illegal and unethical marketing of Subsys, including paying doctors to prescribe the drug and off-labeling it—prescribing the drug for conditions it wasn’t approved for.
Ever since legal proceedings were filed against Insys in February 2016, its share price has dropped 52.27 percent to $7.75 as of Thursday’s close.
For Teva Pharmaceuticals, shares of the company have dipped 11.32 percent to $18.64 since de Blasio’s lawsuit announcement on January 23, while Johnson & Johnson has decreased 14.7 percent to $126.36. The story is similar for Endo International, which has dipped 14.36 percent to $6.26 and Allergan, which has lost 12.73 percent to its share price value to fall to $164.20.Investor Takeaway
Insys has already begun to settle some settlements, but analysts still recommend holding and strong buy for the company, according to Nasdaq. One article from Alpha Beta Stock chose Insys for the top buy today (February 8, 2016) Eddie New wrote, “Volatility is simply a measure of the predictable daily price range—the range in which a day trader operates. More volatility means greater profit or loss. After a recent check, Insys stock is found to be 7.20% volatile for the week, while 7.09% volatility is recorded for the month.”
Another article by CB Insights, explains the lawsuits may not hit pharmaceutical companies hard because they can develop substitutes, “Pacira Pharmaceuticals and Nektar Therapeutics mentioned opioids more than other companies by a large margin. Pacira Pharmaceuticals creates a non-opioid alternative to post-surgical pain management, and Nektar creates an opioid without euphoric effects to avoid addiction.” These companies have already come up with non-opioid pain substitutes, which could be a worthy investment.
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Feb 9, 2018 | WAGA (Fox)
By Atlanta, GA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594279?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: a lawsuit has just been filed in athens clarke county against multiple manufacturers and distributors of the drugs. the lawsuitaims it to eliminate the hazards of public health and safety caused by the epidemic. the suit alleged drug makers aggressively pushed doctors to prescribe the highly addictive medication and it alleges drug distributors intentionally failed to investigate and properly report suspicious orders of the opioids.
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Feb 9, 2018 | WKBTDT2 (MyNetwork TV)
By La Crosse, WI
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594286?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: la crosse county board members vote next week on whether to join the county to a statewide lawsuit against pharmaceautica l companies. about five- dozen other wisconsin counties are already part of the lawsuit... alleging drug makers contributed to the opioid crisis because they pushed their products using deceptive marketing campaigns. the county's executive committee voted yesterday to join the lawsuit. in the meantime... a new resource is being made available to people who have survived an opioidoverdose in our area. coulee council on addictions' in la crosse is starting a training program to connect those survivors with recovery coaches who are at least one year into their own recovery. a one-year grant from the state department of health is making this program possible. "many times when people are at their bottom they feel there's no hope. by getting this grant, we can meet them where they're at and provide hope, and tell them that they're not alone and that we'll be with them through the process." during training... coaches will learn how to work with overdose survivors in the e-r and get them in-touch with helpful resources. we have information about becoming a recovery coach posted at news eight- thousand dot com.
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Feb 9, 2018 | KFXK (Fox)
By Tyler, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594296?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: in our country's opioid crisis.take: gfx doctors, manufacturers, patientsd treatment plans --- it's a laundry list.take: boc ots experts say it's mcrucial for society to meet ou addicts half way to help them through the challenges. fox 51's wes rapaport has take: pkgoutcue: std 8:42 AMduration:1:30mark willmore:"i started off taking them as prescribed"many addiction stories start like mark willmore's then i'm running out, having to buy them on the streets" what started as a teenager looking for pain relief after dental surgery turned into 26 year old addicted to opioids and trying heroinmark willmore:"it's an intense rush, you get a lot more effect produced for what you're looking for and it wasn't near as expensive"an overdose led to a car crash - and a reality check.seven trips to rehab later, he finally found a short-term program that met his needs mark willmore:"looking back now, it's like wow. i got out. yeah it's a miracle."lucas hill, pharmd:"the number of opioid overdose deaths is going to continue to go up for at least several more years" pharmacist lucas hill leads 'operation naloxone'-a group out of ut austin providing hands-on help for addicts they've partnered with other organizations to distribute the powerful overdose reversal drug naloxone to texans says he's committed to helping people who need it-even if he doesn't agree with their choiceslucas hill, pharmd/ director, operation naloxone "their brain is suffering from a disease and we need to try to help them stay alive until we can address the root cause." hill and others work to teach about overdose, and raise awareness about the wide spectrum of treatmentoption. mark willmore"step 1. reach out for help"willmore is lucky he did áwhen he didnow a year sober-the houston native says it took a desire to get help that turned his life around mark willmore"i believe there are more good things coming."
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Feb 9, 2018 | WLOV (Fox)
By Columbus-Tupelo-W Pnt-Hstn, MS
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594301?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: the winston medical center has filed a lawsuitagainst the makers and distributors of opioid drugs... the lawsuit claims the two worked togetherto deceive medical providers about the dangers of opioids. the hospital is asking for monetary damages.
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Feb 9, 2018 | KOCO (ABC)
By Oklahoma City, OK
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594307?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: knew this morning, a lawsuit refiled after a judge threw it out. the lawsuit names opioid distributors and retail pharmacies as defendants. it was originally filed in tribal court, but the judge said the tribe lacked jurisdiction.
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Feb 9, 2018 | KJRH (NBC)
By Tulsa, OK
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594318?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: the cherokee nation is continuing its legal fight against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers. the tribe just refiled its case in sequoyah county district court after a federal judge ordered the case thrown out of tribal court. 2 works for you spoke went to the tiger mountain recovery for women center in henryetta. of the 11 women in the 90-day recovery program, 6 are recovering from opioid addiction.
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Feb 9, 2018 | WBTV (CBS)
By Charlotte, NC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594319?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: mecklenburg county filed a lawsuit against several opioid manufacturers. county officials are seeking to recover damages spent in the fight against the opioid epidemic, they claim the manufacturers cause. mecklenburg county joined several other states and counties, including gaston and burke counties, who have also filed lawsuits against manufacturers of prescription opioids. right now, there are more than 300 lawsuits filed.
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Feb 9, 2018 | WJCL (ABC)
By Savannah, GA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594323?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: u-s attorney general "jeff sessions" i addressing the u-s southern command's opioid summit. sessions -- blaming the combination of record availability, and lower prices. he also outlined what the government is doing to respond to the cris ..including providing opioid fraud and detection units to find doctors illegally prescribing opioids. as well as the development of a law enforcement team led by federal agencies to target dealers who sell online. "this country is facing a cris that we've never seen, i don't think, anything quite like it in my experience, and i believe we can do better about it." sessions said this week the opioid addiction cris is being driven by prescription painkillers, heroin, and synthetic drugs like fentanyl. tonight -- in our state of addiction report ... the lowcountry steps up its fight against the opioid cris with -- beaufort county filing a lawsuit against multiple manufacturers -- distributors -- and local doctors who don'tá warn of the dangers of addictive medications. one lowcountry recovery home believes
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Feb 8, 2018 | WWNY (CBS)
By Watertown, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594329?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: lewis county legislative chair: "i don't see it as the manufacturers in a position of taking full blame, but they certainly do share in the responsibility." lewis county legislator jerry king wants to make sure if the counties win the lawsuit, the money won't just be put into the general fund... but go directly toward combating the opioid crisis.
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Feb 8, 2018 | WDVM (WDVM)
By Washington, DC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594336?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: the montgomery county government... and its leaders... are taking a stand... against opioid addiction... with a newly launched lawsuit. wdvm's michael gordon... spoke with county executive ike leggett... and others... to learn more... about the lawsuit's objectives... and how parents... who have lost their kids to the epidemic... feel about it. << michael gordon: montgomery county and its legal team announced that their lawsuit will strike right at what they call the source of the opioid epidemic - the fourteen opioidmanufacturers and distributors listed in this legal brief. ike leggett/montgome ry county executive "the most important thing would be a change of behavior so that we can stop what is happenning today - the false advertising and getting people addicted in a way that is very difficult to reverse - that is the most significant thing for me." michael gordon: leggett and his team allege that 12:26 PMharmful and misleading advertising practices have helped feed the opioid epidemic. j.p. cassagnol was certainly no junkie or criminal - just a young man with a bright future who was driven into a battle with opioids after he hurt his knee playing rugby. "you give the kids oxccontin they get addicted - they are dieing by the dozens - so what do you do - you produce another drug called narcan that can save their life but they still stay addicted to youre product ... they need to be held accountable there is no doubt." michael gordon: the lawsuit will also go after doctors who were allegedly careless with their powers of perscription. mark dearman/outside council to montgomery county "i think there are like wit anything else - good doctors and there are some bad doctors - i do think that over prescribing these medications is a problem i do think that it needs to be addressed - there are some doctors who have been named in some cases." michael gordon: unfortunately - the wheels of justice tend to turn slowly but leggett promised that this fight will continue even after he leaves office at the end of the year. "given the fact that we've file suit - that this is a serious matter that it's highly unlikely that the county would not pursue this to the ultimate end." michael gordon: the lawsuit will also pursue an unspecified amount of monetary damages.
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Feb 8, 2018 | WFIE (NBC)
By Evansville, IN
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32594338?token=4782e11a-cf53-44df-81ad-4136d5389715
Rough Transcript: the city of evansville is joining a long list of plaintiffs in a suit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. city officials say this lawsuit is about fighting back against the epidemic and holding companies responsible. it places heavy blame on drug manufacturers and distributors for enabling the opioid epidemic, using two main points... that manufactures pushed the highly addictive opioids to patients. and that distributors didn't follow their legal obligation to monitor and report suspicious prescriptions. marco delucio: "to gain control over the distribution of opioids, so going forward, it's to try to stop the crisis now so that it doesn't continue on into the future. part of the lawsuit is to try to cover damages that municipalities like evansville have incurred in dealing with problems that have associated with opioids." the goal is for stricter regulations and limiting stricter regulations and limiting prescriptions to only what is medically necessary.
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