TUCSON — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has filed legal action against OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, alleging the company violated a 2017 consent order prohibiting the use of deceptive opioid marketing.
In its latest court action, Brnovich alleges Purdue continued to disseminate false and misleading information through advertising materials, websites and its sales representatives. Purdue also violated the judgment by marketing prescription opioids, including OxyContin, through "seemingly independent" nonprofits which Purdue paid millions of dollars to promote opioids, Brnovich said. The attorney general alleges the company marketed opioids as "safer for treating pain than non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin."
“Countless Arizonans have been harmed as a result of the opioid crisis,” Brnovich said in a statement. “When companies use false advertising to conceal the risks associated with these potentially deadly drugs, they have to be held accountable.”
Brnovich seeks up to $25,000 per violation of the previous court order and intends to seek the maximum penalty, the Attorney General's Office said.