Legal & Legislative Updates
Cities Sue Drug Makers, Distributors
(Winter 2017) The City of Indianapolis is taking 10 pharmaceutical makers to federal court, charging them with contributing to the spread of opioids and falling short in their attempts to pinpoint and halt questionable drug orders. Indianapolis also accused these companies of using misleading advertising about the applications, safety and hazards of opioid use. In addition, three opioid distributors were named in the suit: Cardinal Health, Inc., AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation and McKesson Corporation.
The lawsuit seeks financial reparation for the high costs the opioid epidemic has levied on both Indianapolis and Marion County, where the city is located. In 2014, Indiana was listed 15th in the country for overdose fatalities, with Marion County accounting for the highest number of deadly overdoses and non-life-threatening emergency room visits in the Hoosier state.
Following in Indy’s footsteps, Phoenix is taking action against both drug makers and distributors for restitution of funds the city has poured into battling opioids. Leaders there charge that the nationwide spike in deaths due to the dangerously-addictive substances traces back to drug distributors and manufacturers that downplayed the dangers of opioids.
City officials instructed Phoenix’s attorney to send a letter to drug firms outlining costs for which the municipality wishes to be reimbursed. This includes escalating justice system costs and the high price of naloxone, the opioid overdose-reversal drug, which is now standard equipment on all of the city’s fire department vehicles. If the letter is not effective in collecting reparations, Phoenix plans on securing outside legal counsel to take the matter to court.
A representative for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a group that backs drug research firms, declined to discuss the possibility of Phoenix’s lawsuit. However, PhRMA’s president stated in September that the organization is in favor of guidelines curbing opioid prescriptions to a maximum of one week for the management of short-term pain.
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