New York Opioid Trial Jury Heard Manufacturers Joking About Epidemic
The first-ever jury to hear allegations against a major drug corporation in Long Island were read emails showing evidence of mockery and disdain from company employees who had flooded the market with dangerous amounts of opioids.
Landwebs
During opening statements at a Long Island trial seeking to blame the pharmaceutical industry for a wave of opioid addiction, the first-ever jury to hear allegations against the industry were read emails in which employees at AmerisourceBergen Corp. joked about addicts, sent parody photos, and created satirical songs while contributing to what New York’s attorney general and Nassau and Suffolk counties say is a public-health crisis in the state, reports the Wall Street Journal. In the New York lawsuit, the companies have pushed back on the allegations, arguing they sold pills for legitimate medical uses and distributed them according to federal regulations.
The New York trial is the first to be heard by a jury and the first to include both the makers and distributors of prescription opioids in one proceeding. Attorneys for New York’s Suffolk and Nassau counties say the drug companies aggressively marketed their opioids to doctors to create a wider market for painkillers beyond what was medically necessary. Wholesalers that distribute the drugs to pharmacies, the plaintiffs allege, allowed higher and higher volumes to be shipped without raising enough questions about suspicious orders. The trial is down to seven defendants after Johnson & Johnson settled with New York over the weekend for $263 million and four pharmacies were severed from the case. The remaining companies include drugmakers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Endo International PLC and drug distributors Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corporation.
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