Mike DeWine, Ohio's attorney general, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against five opioid manufacturers, accusing the companies of engaging in fraudulent marketing and subsequently fueling the opioid epidemic in the state.
The five listed defendants are Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and its subsidiary Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Allergan. The suit alleges these companies violated Ohio consumer law by misleading the public about the risks and benefits involved with the use of opioid medications.
"We believe the evidence will also show that these companies got thousands and thousands of Ohioans — our friends, our family members, our co-workers, our kids — addicted to opioid pain medications, which has all too often led to use of the cheaper alternatives of heroin and synthetic opioids," said Mr. DeWine. "These drug manufacturers led prescribers to believe that opioids were not addictive, that addiction was an easy thing to overcome, or that addiction could actually be treated by taking even more opioids. They knew they were wrong, but they did it anyway —and they continue to do it. Despite all evidence to the contrary about the addictive nature of these pain medications, they are doing precious little to take responsibility for their actions and to tell the public the truth."
Ohio's lawsuit is the latest in a series of comparable suits filed in recent months targeting drug wholesalers, pharmacies and drug manufacturers for allegedly contributing to rising rates of opioid overdoses.
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