Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor filed a civil lawsuit on March 31, 2021 against opioid manufacturers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Cephalon, Allergan and certain subsidiaries. In addressing Alaska’s effort against the state’s ongoing opioid epidemic, it’s alleged that Teva and Allergan violated Alaska’s Unfair Trade Practices Act by engaging in a deceptive marketing campaign that minimized the risk of opioids, especially the serious risks of addiction, and sought to convince doctors that there was a significant upside for their use for chronic non-cancer pain by exaggerating their purported benefits.
The complaint further alleges that these opioid companies’ fraudulent marketing of branded and generic opioids played a major role in transforming medical thinking about opioids, persuading doctors that the risk of addiction for legitimate pain patients is modest and manageable and outweighed by the benefits in reduced pain and improved quality of life for their patients.
Also, the suit alleges that Teva and Allergan failed to control their supply of opioids into Alaska, in violation of state and federal law, and lacked an adequate system to monitor orders and investigate, report and refuse to fill orders that they knew should have known were suspicious. According to data recently disclosed by the DEA in the opioid litigation, from 2006-2014, Teva and Allergan alone supplied over 46 million opioid pills into the state of Alaska.
According to the lawsuit, the increased opioid prescription volume resulted from the marketing is directly correlated to increased addiction, overdose, and death in Alaska, to an expansion of the black market for diverted prescription opioids, and an increase in heroin use by those who can’t afford – or legally acquire – prescription opioids, the suit alleges.
Commissioner Adam Crum with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services said, “For the last two decades, the opioid epidemic has greatly impacted the lives and wellbeing of our communities. In 2019, Alaska experienced the second highest rate of overdose deaths in ten years – 105 people lost their lives to overdoses involving opioids. However, the impacts extend far beyond lives lost. We see strained criminal justice, public assistance, social service, primary care, behavioral health, and emergency response systems in our communities. Moreover, in 2018 drug misuse had associative costs of $1.06 billion, with at least $69 million due to opioid use disorder and opioid-related incidents.”
Previously, the Attorney General’s Office sued Purdue Pharma and Mallinckrodt. Both were opioid manufacturers which are now bankrupt. On October 25, 2018, the Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against opioid distributors McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Drug Company. The lawsuit alleges that the three companies, and McKesson’s Directors and Officers, disregarded their obligations under state law to report and halt suspicious orders and prevent diversion of prescription drugs. The motions to dismiss were denied and that case is moving towards trial.