Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of the state against Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions and Janssen Pharmaceuticals for allegedly engaging in fraudulent opioid advertising.
The lawsuit, filed in St. Louis, accuses the pharmaceutical giants of engaging in a "carefully crafted campaign of deception" and purposely misleading both patients and physicians about the potential adverse effects related to the misuse of opioid prescription painkillers.
"These companies have profited from the suffering of Missourians," said Mr. Hawley. "Today, we begin to fight to put an end to this crisis as we fight for the thousands of lives endangered and lost to the opioid epidemic."
Mr. Hawley said the lawsuit seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in both damages and civil penalties, according to The Kansas City Star. Mr. Hawley hopes the money would go to drug rehabilitation services and other services to help families harmed by addiction.
"While we vigorously deny the allegations in the complaint, we share the attorney general's concerns about the opioid crisis, and we are committed to working collaboratively to find solutions," Purdue Pharma spokesman John Puskar told Becker's via email. "[W]e are an industry leader in the development of abuse-deterrent technology, advocating for the use of prescription drug monitoring programs and supporting access to Naloxone — all important components for combating the opioid crisis."
Jessica Castles Smith, a spokesperson for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, told Becker's the drugmaker "has acted appropriately, responsibly and in the best interests of patients regarding our opioid pain medications, which are [Food and Drug Administration]-approved and carry FDA-mandated warnings about the known risks of the medications on every product label."
The senior director for corporate affairs at Endo, Heather Zoumas-Lubeski, told Becker's via email that Endo's "top priorities include patient safety and ensuring that patients with chronic pain have access to safe and effective therapeutic options. We share in the FDA's goal of appropriately supporting the needs of patients with chronic pain while preventing misuse and diversion of opioid products."
Approximately 500 Missourians died of non-heroin, opioid overdoses in 2015, according to the lawsuit.
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