ATLANTA — The state of Georgia has filed a civil lawsuit against more than 20 opioid manufacturers and distributors for allegedly using false and deceptive tactics in a effort to increase their profits from opioid drug sales, which has contributed to the state's opioid crisis.
According to the lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County, the companies deceived patients and health care professionals by minimizing the risks of opioid addiction and falsely claimed drug information was from "independent and unbiased third parties" yet was actually paid for by the opioid manufacturers. The opioid manufacturers and distributors also failed to monitor and report "suspicious orders" leading to "illegitimate and non-medical use" of the drugs, the Georgia Attorney General's Office said.
“No Georgia community is a stranger to the devastating effects of the opioid crisis,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement. “We are bringing this lawsuit, quite simply, to seek justice for the citizens of Georgia. It is imperative that we recover for the widespread damage that has been caused by this epidemic.”
Opioid distributors and manufacturers named in the lawsuit are Purdue Pharma LP, Purdue Pharma Inc,. The Purdue Frederick Company Inc., Cephalon Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Endo Health Solutions Inc., Endo International PLC, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., Par Pharmaceutical Inc., Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc., Qualitest Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mallinckrodt PLC, Mallinckrodt LLC, SpecGx LLC, Allergan PLC, Actavis PLC, Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., Watson Laboratories Inc..Actavis Inc..Actavis LLC, Actavis Pharma Inc., Watson Pharma Inc., AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corporation and J M Smith Corporation.