SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah has filed a lawsuit accusing manufacturers of the opioid OxyContin of creating a drug abuse epidemic in the state.
Attorney General Sean Reyes said Thursday that drugmaker Purdue Pharma misrepresented the risk opioids posed and the likelihood of addiction, amounting to fraud, negligence and a violation of state consumer protection law.
Reyes’s office is asking Purdue to change its practices and pay an unspecified amount for the increased costs it says the state incurred due to the opioid crisis.
Purdue spokesman Bob Josephson said the company denied the allegations and was disappointed the state was turning to litigation.
Utah officials say they’re resorting to a lawsuit after settlement negotiations between the company and several states reached a deadlock.
They say the state could sue additional pharmaceutical companies in the future.
