- Drugmakers marketed their prescription opioid drugs as having a low risk of addiction even though that is not the case, a lawyer for a New York county told juror today.
- A lawsuit that accuses several major drugmakers and three national drug distributors of helping to fuel the nation's prescription opioid epidemic began trial today in Central Islip, N.Y.
- Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy, representing Suffolk County in the trial, said that drugmakers and drug distributors didn't report suspicious opioid orders, as mandated, Reuters reports.
- "Manufacturers and distributors control the valve to stop the flood of opioids," she said."
- Defendants in the case include drugmakers AbbVie (ABBV -1.0%), Endo International (ENDP -3.7%), Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA -1.6%). It also includes pharmaceutical distributors AmerisourceBergen (ABC +0.5%), Cardinal Health (CAH +0.6%), and McKesson (MCK +0.5%).
- On Saturday, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -0.1%) reached a $230M settlement with New York state over its alleged role in the epidemic and is no longer named in the lawsuit.
- The lawsuit was brought by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, as well as Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
- CVS Health, Rite Aid, and Walmart were initially named as defendants, but were dropped from the case during jury selection.