Delaware State Attorney General Matt Denn filed a lawsuit Jan. 19 against drugmakers, drug distributors and two pharmacy retailers for the companies' alleged roles in facilitating widespread opioid use in the state.
The legal action seeks to hold the companies financially responsible for not meeting their legal obligations while disseminating opioids throughout the state. The suit lists drugmakers Purdue Pharma and Endo International; drug distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, Amerisource Bergen, Anda Pharmaceuticals and H.D. Smith; and retail pharmacies CVS and Walgreens as defendants.
"Opioid manufacturers misrepresented the addictive nature of their products. They, along with national opioid distributors and national pharmacies, knew that they were shipping quantities of opioids around the country so enormous that they could not possibly all be for legitimate medical purposes, but they failed to take basic steps to ensure that those drugs were going only to legitimate patients," Mr. Denn said. "These companies ignored red flags that opioids were being diverted from legitimate channels of distribution and use to illicit channels. The failure of these corporate defendants to meet their legal obligations has had a devastating impact on Delawareans."
More than 50 opioids for every man, woman and child in the state are shipped into Delaware annually, according to the lawsuit.
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