Georgia Suing Opioid Manufacturers and Distributors

ATLANTA, GA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr filed a lawsuit Thursday in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County against opioid manufacturers and distributors, accusing them of downplaying their products' dangerous addiction risks. “No Georgia community is a stranger to the devastating effects of the opioid crisis,” said Carr. “We are bringing this lawsuit quite simply to seek justice for the citizens of Georgia. It is imperative that we recover for the widespread damage that has been caused by this epidemic.”

The lawsuit alleges that, in an effort to increase opioid use and thereby increase profits, the named opioid manufacturers embarked on a false and deceptive marketing campaign that grossly understated the dangerous addiction risks of opioids, while overstating their benefits. The complaint also alleges that to promote and add credibility to these false and deceptive claims, the named manufacturers used front groups and key opinion leaders appearing to be independent and unbiased third parties that were actually paid and controlled by the opioid manufacturers.

The lawsuit also alleges that the named opioid distributors supplied, sold and placed into the stream of commerce prescription opioids, without fulfilling their legal obligations to monitor, detect, report, investigate or otherwise prevent the fulfillment of suspicious orders. This behavior led to the predictable diversion of these dangerous drugs for illegitimate and/or non-medical purposes.

The civil action – brought exclusively under Georgia law – seeks damages, injunctive relief and restitution for defendants’ conduct. The companies named in the lawsuit are:

Purdue Pharma L.P., Purdue Pharma Inc.; The Purdue Frederick Company Inc.; Cephalon, Inc.; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.; Endo Health Solutions, Inc.; Endo International plc; Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Par Pharmaceutical, Inc.; Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. f/k/a Par Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc.; Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Mallinckrodt plc; Mallinckrodt LLC; SpecGx LLC; Allergan plc; Actavis plc; Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Watson Laboratories, Inc.; Actavis, Inc.; Actavis LLC; Actavis Pharma, Inc.; Watson Pharma, Inc.; AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation; Cardinal Health, Inc.; McKesson Corporation; J M Smith Corporation.

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