CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has filed suit against two major opioid painkiller manufacturers for their role in the opioid epidemic in the state.
Morrisey announced on Wednesday that the lawsuits allege Endo Health Solutions Inc., Mallinckrodt LLC, and various subsidiaries contributed to the opioid crisis by individually engaging in strategic campaigns to deceive prescribers and misrepresent the risks and benefits of opioid painkillers.
“Wednesday’s announcement represents another important step in the process,” Morrisey said in a released video. “We are going to make sure we hold those entities responsible for any wrongdoing that occurred within the pharmaceutical supply channel. We are going to keep going and do everything imaginable to protect West Virginians.”
Filed separately on Tuesday in Boone County Circuit Court, the lawsuits allege the defendants mischaracterized and failed to disclose the serious risk of addiction, overstated the benefits of chronic opioid therapy and promoted higher dosage amounts without disclosing inherently greater risks, a release said.
In the lawsuit against Endo, Morrisey alleges that the company rebranded its widely abused drug from the 1960s to keep up with competition decades later. The effort included a new name, Opana, and a new color to minimize memory of a reputation tarnished by widespread abuse and diversion, according to his office.
A press release by Morrisey’s office said the Mallinckrodt lawsuit alleges its executives ignored warnings of abuse. It cites one email in which a distributor jokes that consumers are addicted to its product, to which a Mallinckrodt executive compared opioids to chips in replying, “Keep eating. We’ll make more.”
“We must hold everyone in the pharmaceutical supply channel accountable,” Morrisey said. “We cannot let bad actors go unpunished. These alleged actions have caused widespread harm to our state and its citizens. We will not tolerate these practices, nor will we stand idly by as senseless death takes the lives of far too many West Virginians.”
Morrisey further alleges their conduct violated the state’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act and caused a public nuisance. Both lawsuits seek injunctive and equitable relief.