Lawsuit: Pharma Companies and Distributors Contributed to Opioid Crisis

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

Another proposed class action has been filed against various pharmaceutical companies and distributors, claiming the defendants’ deceptive marketing of opioid products has contributed to their widespread abuse. The suit explains that opioids are used for short-term pain relief in “managed settings” such as hospitals, where their administration can be controlled. When the drugs are used for periods longer than 90 days, the complaint continues, they can produce “adverse” side effects and pose a high risk of addiction.

The case argues that despite the defendants’ knowledge of the possible risks associated with long-term use of opioids, the companies attempted to convince medical professionals and the general public that the drugs “could be safely used by most patients” to treat chronic pain.

“Defendants accomplished that false perception through a coordinated, sophisticated, and highly deceptive marketing campaign that began in the late 1990s, became more aggressive in or about 2006, and continues to the present,” the complaint reads, adding that the defendants’ behavior has allegedly contributed to what was declared in October 2017 to be “a public health emergency.”

The full complaint, including a list of the defendants, can be read below.