The defendants cited in the suit are manufacturers Purdue, Cephalon, Janssen, Actavis and Endo Health Solutions and distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen. The suit also named two physicians who allegedly operated pill mills in Towson and Owings Mill, both in Maryland.
“They were reckless. They were intentional. It was marketing; it was greed,” Baltimore City Solicitor Andre Davis said of the drug companies, according to The Hill.
Mr. Davis added that any damages won in the lawsuit would fund police and healthcare initiatives associated with the opioid epidemic, which has hit Baltimore hard in recent years. There were 523 opioid overdoses in the city between January and September 2017.
The lawsuit comes one week after New York filed a similar action against eight drug manufacturers and distributors.
More articles on opioids:
FDA calls for packaging change to opioid antidiarrheal to limit overdose risk
Florida physician convicted in 49k pill opioid prescription scam
Fentanyl seizure contained enough doses to kill New Jersey and NYC’s entire population
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