Tucson Medical Center is the first hospital in the state to file suit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
The 271-page lawsuit claims 25 opioid manufacturers and 6 distributors used deceptive marketing to distribute and sell these highly addictive drugs.
Opioids killed more than 700 Arizonans in 2016, an average of two people per day, according to the lawsuit.
As TMC sees more patients needing treatment for opioid addiction, they want to now hold these drug companies accountable.
On page 2 of the lawsuit, TMC says, "the crisis threatens Tucson Medical Center in a way that it has not experienced in over fifty years since its founding."
The lawsuit alleges the companies were negligent by downplaying the serious risk of addiction, promoting long term opioid use, and using deceptive advertising to sell products to TMC.
The manufacturing and marketing defendants are:
- Purdue Pharma LP
- Purdue Pharma Inc.
- The Purdue Frederick Co. Inc.
- Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
- Cephalon Inc.
- Johnson & Johnson
- Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc.
- Abbott Laboratories Inc.
- Depomed Inc.
- Endo Health Solutions Inc.
- Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- Mallinckrodt LLC
- Insys Therapeutics Inc.
- Mallinckrodt PLC
- SpecGx LLC
- Allergan PLC
- Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc
- Watson Laboratories Inc.
- Actavis LLC
- Actvis Pharma Inc
- Normanco Inc.
The distributor defendants are:
- McKesson Corp.
- AmericsourceBergen Drug Corp.
- Cardinal Health Inc.
- Anda Inc.
- H.D. Smith LLC
- Henry Schein
August 31 is International Overdose Day. You can find resources here.
