New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas added claims against drugmakers Insys Therapeutics Inc. and Mallinckrodt Plc in a lawsuit seeking economic damages from opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors for their alleged role in fueling the state's opioid epidemic.
Balderas decided to amend a lawsuit he originally filed in September. The suit also targets drugmakers Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson, Allergan plc, Endo International plc and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp.
"The entire pharmaceutical opioid industry, including both manufacturers and distributors together, has been in on the scheme to illegally market and sell opioids to New Mexicans, and we've modified our complaint to show that," Balderas said.
The suit comes amid a series of federal and state investigations centered on Insys. Other states are also seeking to hold drugmakers accountable for a fueling a drug addiction epidemic in the U.S.
