The state of Ohio has sued five major drug manufacturers for their role in the opioid epidemic. In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, state Attorney General Mike DeWine alleges these five companies “helped unleash a health care crisis that has had far-reaching financial, social, and deadly consequences in the State of Ohio.”
Named in the suit are:
* Purdue Pharma
* Endo Health Solutions
* Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and subsidiary Cephalon
* Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals
* Allergan
The lawsuit — only the second such suit filed by a state, after Mississippi did so earlier this year — accuses the companies of engaging in a sustained marketing campaign to downplay the addiction risks of the prescription opioid drugs they sell and to exaggerate the benefits of their use for health problems such as chronic pain. Continue reading