Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma LP, claiming that the company's marking practices for its prescription opioids, including OxyContin, fueled the opioid epidemic in the state.
The lawsuit filed in the district court in Carbon County alleges that the company violated state law, including the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act, relating to Purdue's prescription opioids. The state claims the company misrepresented or failed to disclose the risk of opioid addiction and falsely claimed that doctors and patients could increase opioid dosages indefinitely without risk.
In addition, the suit claims the company made false representations regarding pseudoaddiction and falsely represented to doctors that common signs of addiction in patients are actually signs that the patient needs a higher dose of opioid.
"Purdue fueled Utah's opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing prescription painkillers despite knowing their products were highly addictive and dangerous and were being abused, crushed, snorted and stolen from pharmacies and medicine cabinets," Reyes said a statement. "While Purdue's executives got rich, Utah was plunged into a national public health crisis."
Purdue Pharma denied the allegations and said it was disappointed by the lawsuit "after months of good faith negotiations," Reuters reported, citing a statement by the company.
The Utah attorney general was part of a bipartisan coalition of 41 states investigating the marketing and sales practices of opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors. The coalition was also negotiating settlements with the companies being investigated.
In April, the U.S. Justice Department said it was seeking court permission to participate in settlement talks to resolve multidistrict litigation against opioid makers and distributors.
Meanwhile in Alaska, Purdue requested a judge to dismiss a lawsuit launched by the state in 2017, which claimed the company used deceptive practices that violated state consumer protection laws, The Seattle Times reported May 31.
The state claimed that Purdue promoted the use of OxyContin for long-term chronic pain when there was little evidence to support it. According to The Seattle Times, the state claimed that the company used an aggressive promotional campaign that entailed representatives visiting doctors' offices and paid talks and programs from experts that were often sponsored by the company.
Purdue reportedly claimed in court filings that the state was not taking into account certain factors, such as a doctor's decision on prescribing the drug, a patient's decision on the method of use, and the state's decision on covering the drug through Medicaid.
Recently, attorneys general from six states including Nevada, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, North Dakota and Tennessee sued the Stamford, Conn.-based drugmaker for engaging in the unlawful marketing and promotion of its prescription painkillers.
In March, Arkansas and South Dakota filed lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, as well as pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson and Endo International PLC, for the deceptive marketing and sale of prescription opioids.
