OxyContin maker Purdue said to have settled opioids abuse case
This is the first settlement to result from a wave of recent lawsuits over the drug maker’s marketing of painkillers
Boston — Purdue Pharma has agreed to settle a lawsuit by the state of Oklahoma accusing the OxyContin painkiller maker of helping fuel an opioid abuse epidemic, a person familiar with the matter said. It is the first settlement to result from a wave of recent lawsuits over the drug maker's marketing of painkillers. The settlement with Oklahoma attorney-general Mike Hunter came just weeks before Purdue, owned by members of the wealthy Sackler family, was set to face the first trial to result from around 2,000 lawsuits nationally against opioid manufacturers. Hunter's 2017 lawsuit accuses Purdue, Johnson & Johnson & Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd of engaging in deceptive marketing that downplayed the risks of addiction associated with opioid pain drugs while overstating their benefits. The companies deny wrongdoing. They had sought to delay the May 28 trial to September 16, citing the need to review records the state belatedly turned over that could be critical to their defence. T...
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