San Diego City Attorney sues drug makers, alleging deceit behind nation’s opioid epidemic

The San Diego City Attorney’s Office on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit against major manufacturers of prescription painkillers, alleging company officials knew they were stoking the country’s opioid crisis.

“Opioid manufacturers have profited handsomely from the human suffering they intentionally inflicted through manipulation and deceit,” City Attorney Mara Elliott said in a statement.

“While San Diego will long deal with the destructive consequences of their greed, we intend to hold them accountable for funding drug treatment and education programs that will protect the health and safety of San Diegans.”

Thousands of cities, counties and states, hospitals and individuals across the nation have been filing similar lawsuits for years.

More than 1,000 of the cases have been consolidated as multi-district litigation overseen by an Ohio federal judge.

Elliott’s statement notes that the city’s lawsuit is expected to become part of the consolidated case.

San Diego is going after the makers and distributors of powerful painkillers, such as Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2016, 42,249 people fatally overdosed on illicit and prescription opioids.

Most of the death toll was attributed to illicit fentanyl, a potent synthetic heroin widely spread in the street market. Prescription drugs were involved in an estimated 34 percent of the deaths, the CDC reported in 2018.

The city alleges Connecticut-based Purdue, its billionaire owners the Sackler family and other major companies created a public nuisance and used deception to market the drugs.

Robert Josephson, a spokesman for Purdue, said the company denies allegations it acted improperly and noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved OxyContin as safe for its intended use.

“We share the city’s concern about the opioid addiction crisis.” Josephson said in an emailed statement.

“While Purdue Pharma’s opioid medicines account for less than 2% of total prescriptions, we will continue to work collaboratively with the city and state to help bring meaningful solutions forward to address this public health challenge.”

Elliott is seeking damages to fund drug treatment and education programs, return allegedly unlawful profits and recover the city’s costs in responding to the opioid crisis. The prosecutor also alleges the companies ran an ongoing conspiracy in violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — know as RICO.

Defendants in the city’s lawsuit include Rhodes, Teva, Janssen, Allergan, Actavis, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson pharmaceutical companies.

The suit specifically names eight members of the ultra-rich Sackler family. Brothers Mortimer, Raymond and Arthur Sackler, all now deceased, founded Purdue Pharma, which later developed OxyContin.

Forbes estimates the Sackler family’s worth at $13 billion. Family members are known for worldwide philanthropy, especially directed toward museums and galleries including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Sackler Museum in Beijing and the Royal Academy in London.

Speaking for Purdue, Josephson said, “We have strong defenses against these allegations, and believe we will prevail once the full facts are presented.”

He added, “it is inappropriate to substitute the judgment of the city (of San Diego) for the judgment of the regulatory, scientific and medical experts at FDA.”

Josephson said the complaint disregards basic facts about Purdue’s prescription opioid medications, including that OxyContin, as a Schedule II drug, is highly controlled by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Also, he said the FDA-approved label for OxyContin bears a prominent “black box” warning for healthcare providers about the risks of addiction and overdose.

“Purdue promoted its opioid medications based on the medical and scientific evidence in the FDA approved label and did so to licensed physicians who have the training and responsibility to ensure that medications are properly prescribed,” Josephson’s statement said.

Further, he said the lawsuit omits that in 2010 the FDA approved a reformulated version of OxyContin with properties intended to deter abuse.

The allegations also omit key facts about FDA’s regulation of opioid medications:

“Purdue worked for over a decade to develop the new formulation, and it was the first FDA-approved opioid with abuse deterrent properties;” Josephson said.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @pdrepard