Purdue Is Sued by Five More States Over OxyContin Marketing
- Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa, West Virginia and Kansas jump in
- Suits add to wave of litigation against Purdue and Sacklers
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Purdue Pharma LP and its billionaire owners are being sued by five more states alleging the company’s aggressive marketing of the OxyContin painkiller triggered a vast addiction epidemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S.
The attorneys general of Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa, West Virginia and Kansas announced the latest suits on Thursday in a joint statement. Filed by both Republicans and Democrats, the complaints add to a wave of litigation accusing Purdue and the Sackler family, which owns the company, of knowingly pushing doctors to prescribe OxyContin even for minor pain.