Philadelphia on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against drugmakers for their alleged role in contributing to the nation's ongoing opioid overdose and addiction crisis. The suit puts the city in league with a growing number of local and state governments taking similar actions, according to a report from CBS Philly.
The 160-page lawsuit alleges the companies engaged in deceptive marketing techniques to promote the widespread use of opioids and seeks to recoup city funds spent addressing the crisis.
"City agencies have incurred tremendous and avoidable costs trying to combat this crisis and because it is our duty to protect the public from further harm, I believe we have no other choice but to file this lawsuit," City Solicitor Sozi Tulante said Wednesday, according to CBS Philly.
The lawsuit names Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Endo International, Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and subsidiaries of these companies as defendants. In statements cited in the report, each company expressed concern regarding the opioid crisis, but also distanced themselves from the issue to "varying degrees," according to CBS Philly.
City Health Commissioner Tom Farley, MD, said Wednesday he expects the 2017 drug overdose death toll to surpass 1,200 once all the cases have been analyzed. The city has the highest drug overdose rate per capita of all major U.S. cities, according to The Inquirer.
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