Endo International and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals filed a lawsuit against multiple convicted drug dealers and internet sites, claiming their illegal opioid sales are to blame for the nation's ongoing opioid crisis, according to Bloomberg.
Here are seven things to know:
1. The drugmakers filed the lawsuit July 16 in a state court in Kingsport, Tenn.
2. Among the parties sued were the online opioid marketplace RxCash.Biz, individuals indicted for running pill mills and individuals jailed for intent to distribute.
3. Both pharma companies named Tennessee towns and counties that filed their own suit again the drugmakers for allegedly contributing to the state's opioid crisis. Endo and Mallinckrodt's lawsuit comes nearly two months after a Tennessee judge rejected their motion to have the Tennessee suit thrown out.
4. In the suit, the drugmakers say they "are entitled to contribution from the illegal supply chain defendants," since lawyers on behalf of the Tennessee municipalities are attempting to make them pay millions of dollars in damages for their own opioid sales, according to court filings cited by Bloomberg.
5. Mallinckrodt and Endo seek a ruling that prohibits cities and towns from challenging future damages between the companies and drug dealers.
6. Gerard Stranch, a lawyer for Sullivan County, Tenn., one of the cities involved in the suit, called the drugmakers' lawsuit "frivolous," according to the report.
"They're basically suing us for not having enough body bags on hand to clean up after their mess," Mr. Stranch told Bloomberg. "It's a PR stunt. What they're trying to do is intimidate other cities and counties from filing these lawsuits against them.
7. Mallinckrodt shared the following statement with Becker's Hospital Review:
"Mallinckrodt has been sued under the Tennessee Drug Dealer Liability Act, which is designed to punish bad actors who knowingly participate in the illegal drug market. Mallinckrodt, as a legitimate pharmaceutical manufacturer, was improperly brought into this lawsuit in the first place," the company said. "At least 60 percent — and as much as 92 percent — of opioid deaths involve illegal, non-prescription opioids like heroin or illicitly manufactured fentanyl; and of those individuals who abuse prescription opioids, the vast majority obtain those medicines illegally, not through a prescription from a doctor."
Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review reached out to Endo for comment and will update the article as more information becomes available.
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