The Colorado Attorney General’s Office is officially stepping into the ring in a fight between local and state governments and the pharmaceutical industry.
Attorney General Cynthia Coffman on Thursday filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the State of Colorado against Purdue Pharma, accusing the drug maker of playing a large part in causing the opioid epidemic in Colorado. The lawsuit is just one of many filed by cities, counties and states around the country against Purdue or other pharmaceutical companies. Colorado’s lawsuit claims Purdue misled Colorado health care providers and consumers about the addiction risks that go with prescription opioids and reaped large sums of money while many suffered from addiction and thousands in Colorado died. The lawsuit is the result of an investigation conducted by 40 state attorneys general and, according to Coffman, is only the beginning.
“Purdue unleashed a surge of prescription opioids on Coloradans while hiding the facts about their drugs’ addictive properties,” Coffman said in a press release. “Their corporate focus on making money took precedence over patients’ long-term health, and Colorado has been paying the price in loss of life and devastation of its communities as they struggle to address the ongoing opioid crisis. Purdue’s habit-forming medications coupled with their reckless marketing have robbed children of their parents, families of their sons and daughters, and destroyed the lives of our friends, neighbors, and co-workers. While no amount of money can bring back loved-ones, it can compensate for the enormous costs brought about by Purdue’s intentional misconduct.”
According to the Attorney General’s Office, there have been approximately 3,000 prescription opioid-related deaths and uncounted others caused by or related to heroin, Fentanyl or other synthetic opioid use. In 2017, 372 deaths were attributed to prescription opioid use.
The lawsuit accuses Purdue of violating the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The complaint itself is under seal for 10 days from its filing — it should be available after Sept. 16 — but according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office, it alleges, among other things, Purdue:
• downplayed the risk of addiction and the severity of withdrawals;
• exaggerated the benefits of opioid treatment;
• manufactured a fake syndrome called “pseudoaddiction” to counter claims of opioid abuse and addiction;
• advised health care professionals they could avoid patients’ addiction; and
• misrepresented the duration of OxyContin’s efficacy, which led doctors and patients to overuse it.
“Purdue failed in its responsibility to ensure that consumers understood the risks associated with their products,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said. “We applaud this action and believe it is appropriate to safeguard the health of all Coloradans. We will do everything we can to support transparency in health care. Pharmaceutical companies play a vital role in our health care system, but trust in those companies and their products is critical.”
Coffman’s office has been among those leading a group of attorneys general from the vast majority of states, and the coalition has issued subpoenas to Endo Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Allergan plc, as well as the drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson.
“Today’s lawsuit is only the beginning,” Coffman said. “My office, in partnership with federal, state, and local authorities around the country, will continue to investigate and pursue justice against drug companies that earn billions of dollars from prescription opioids while millions of people suffer and die.”
Purdue responded to the lawsuit by saying it shared the concern about the opioid crisis but that its medicines account for less than 2 percent of prescriptions. “We vigorously deny the state’s allegations,” said a spokesperson for Purdue. “The state claims Purdue acted improperly by communicating with prescribers about scientific and medical information that FDA has expressly considered and continues to approve. We believe it is inappropriate for the state to substitute its judgment for the judgment of the regulatory, scientific and medical experts at FDA.”
In addition to the state lawsuit, several counties around Colorado have filed similar lawsuits. Alamosa, Conejos, Chaffee, Las Animas and Otero counties and the city of Alamosa have filed suit in U.S. District Court in Denver against companies including Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Cephalon Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Mallinckrodt LLC. In addition to the counties’ lawsuits, local governments from Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, El Paso, Jefferson and Teller counties, as well as Broomfield, Aurora, Black Hawk, Commerce City, Northglenn and Hudson have been preparing other lawsuits as well.
Outside Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont have filed lawsuits against Purdue.
The Attorney General’s Office has not said whether it is asking for a specific sum for relief, but it did say that having the office represent the state rather than a private law firm will ensure any money obtained from litigation is returned to Colorado communities and those directly affected by the opioid crisis, rather than going to pay for private law firm fees.
— Tony Flesor