With a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Alabama became the latest state to seek damages from Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of powerful opioids like OxyContin, for its alleged role in perpetuating America’s opioid epidemic.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed the suit in Montgomery federal court, the Associated Press reports. The suit claims that Purdue engaged in "deceptive marketing practices," misleading both patients and doctors about the benefits of their opioid drugs, as well as failing to fully disclose the risk of addiction.
According to Alabama, Purdue engaged in a marketing campaign aimed at encouraging the mass prescription of its drugs. Opioids like morphine were historically prescribed for short-term, severe pain, especially among terminal cancer patients. But, Alabama claims, Purdue worked to expand the use of drugs like OxyContin for chronic and less severe pain, as in arthritis, lower back pain, and frequent headaches.
"Purdue knew, and has known for years, that, as except as a last resort, opioids were addictive and subject to abuse — particularly when used long-term for chronic pain. Purdue further knew, and has known for years, that with prolonged use, the effectiveness of opioids wanes, requiring increases in doses and markedly enhancing the risk of significant side effects and addiction," the lawsuit says.
Purdue denied the allegations, saying that while it was concerned by the growing opioid epidemic, it is working to be "part of the solution." It emphasized that it has distributed CDC guidelines for preventing prescription opioid abuse, and has worked to develop abuse-deterrent opioid medications.
"We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and are dedicated to being part of the solution. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge," a Purdue spokesman said.
Including Alabama, at least 13 states have sued opioid manufacturers in response to the epidemic; numerous cities and counties have done likewise.
Alabama has the highest per capita rate of painkiller prescriptions in the United States, at 1.2 prescriptions per person. By comparison, the national average was 0.71 per person in 2015. The Alabama Attorney General’s office estimated that some 30,000 Alabamians are addicted to heroin or prescription painkillers.
Nationwide, the opioid epidemic killed more than 42,000 people in 2016, the latest year for which estimates are available. Surging drug overdose deaths, driven primarily by opioids such as heroin and fentanyl, are responsible for a two year decline in U.S. life expectancy, the first time such a decline has happened since 1962/1963.