State of Alaska sues OxyContin manufacturer

The State of Alaska is suing Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, in its latest attempt to fight the opioid epidemic.

The suit, filed late Monday in Alaska Superior Court, alleges Purdue Pharma contributed to Alaska’s wave of opioid drug addiction with the way it marketed its drugs. Purdue Pharma manufactured 80 percent of the opioids prescribed in Alaska, Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth said in a Tuesday morning press conference.

In the state’s 85-page legal complaint, it says the opioid epidemic “was caused, in large measure, by a campaign by Purdue Pharma L.P., and its related corporate entities and agents (collectively, “Purdue”) to persuade doctors and patients that compassionate treatment of pain requires opioids and that opioids can be used long-term to treat chronic pain without causing abuse and addiction. None of these claims was — or is — supported by scientific evidence, and they were — and are — dangerously and too often fatally false.”

The complaint notes that Purdue Pharma settled a 2007 federal lawsuit but claims the company continued to deceptively market its drugs in Alaska.

Read more: http://juneauempire.com/state/news/2017-10-31/state-alaska-sues-oxycontin-manufacturer