Philadelphia Files Suit Against Prescription Opioid Makers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The City of Philadelphia is taking manufacturers of prescription opioids to court over what it claims to be years of deceptive marketing.
The lawsuit filed against Allergan/Actavis, Cephalon and Teva, Endo, Janssen and Johnson & Johnson, and Purdue in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court on Wednesday comes a week after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf declared the state's opioid addiction epidemic public health emergency.
"The epidemic currently plaguing the City has exacted a grim toll on Philadelphia residents and their families," said Mayor Jim Kenney. "And the cause can be directly linked to the methods used by manufacturers to market and sell their products to doctors and the public. Those tactics have to end."
The lawsuit seeks to stop the deceptive marketing practices, order the opioid makers to pay for the costs of treatment of local residents suffering from opioid addiction and opioid use disorder, as well as recover costs Philadelphia has incurred due to the opioid epidemic.
"This public health crisis harms public safety, order, and economic productivity," said Solicitor Sozi Pedro Tulante. "City agencies have incurred large, burdensome, unnecessary and avoidable costs to address the crisis. It is our duty to devote all resources we can to help protect the public from further perils and to finally put an end to the practices which are the root of this epidemic."
The City's Health Department estimates that one-in-seven (168,000) have used prescription opioids in the past 12 months. In 2017, 1,200 died from opioid use, which was a one-third increase compared to 2016.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Philadelphia suffered a rate of overdose deaths per-capita that was fourth highest in the nation, which was the highest of any other large city.