In the Circuit Court of Marshall County, West Virginia

In the Circuit Court of Marshall County, West Virginia

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MARSHALL COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS INC.; APPALACHIAN CASE NO. _______________________ REGIONAL HEALTHCARE, INC.; BLUEFIELD HOSPITAL COMPANY, LLC; COMPLAINT CHARLESTON AREA MEDICAL CENTER, INC.; DAVIS MEMORIAL JURY TRIAL DEMANDED HOSPITAL; BROADDUS HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION; WEBSTER COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, INC.; GRAFTON CITY HOSPITAL, INC.; GREENBRIER VMC, LLC; MONONGALIA COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL COMPANY; PRESTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL CORPORATION; STONEWALL JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL COMPANY; OAK HILL HOSPITAL CORPORATION d/b/a PLATEAU MEDICAL CENTER; CAMDEN-CLARK MEMORIAL HOSPITAL CORPORATION; THE CHARLES TOWN GENERAL HOSPITAL; CITY HOSPITAL, INC.; POTOMAC VALLEY HOSPITAL OF W. VA., INC.; REYNOLDS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC.; ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL OF BUCKHANNON, INC.; WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC.; and UNITED HOSPITAL CENTER, INC. Plaintiffs, v. PURDUE PHARMA L.P.; PURDUE PHARMA, INC.; THE PURDUE FREDERICK COMPANY; RICHARD SACKLER; BEVERLY SACKLER; DAVID SACKLER; ILENE SACKLER LEFCOURT; JONATHAN SACKLER; KATHE SACKLER; MORTIMER D.A. SACKLER; THERESA SACKLER; JOHN STEWART; MARK TIMNEY; CRAIG LANDAU; RUSSELL GASDIA; MARK RADCLIFFE; MARK ROSS; PATTY CARNES; AMNEAL PHARMACEUTICALS, LLC; AMNEAL PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.; TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES, LTD.; TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC.; CEPHALON, INC.; JOHNSON & JOHNSON; JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.; JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICA, INC. n/k/a JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.; ABBOTT LABORATORIES; ABBOTT LABORATORIES, INC.; ASSERTIO THERAPEUTICS, INC.; ENDO HEALTH SOLUTIONS, INC.; ENDO PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.; MALLINCKRODT, LLC; INSYS THERAPEUTICS, INC.; MALLINCKRODT PLC; SPECGX, LLC; ALLERGAN PLC; WATSON LABORATORIES, INC.; ACTAVIS LLC; ACTAVIS PHARMA, INC.; ANDA, INC.; H.D. SMITH, LLC f/k/a H.D. SMITH WHOLESALE DRUG CO.; HENRY SCHEIN, INC.; AMERISOURCEBERGEN DRUG CORPORATION; MIAMI-LUKEN, INC.; CARDINAL HEALTH, INC.; RITE AID OF MARYLAND, INC.; THE KROGER CO.; KROGER LIMITED PARTNERSHIP II; CVS HEALTH CORPORATION; CVS PHARMACY, INC.; CVS INDIANA, L.L.C.; WAL-MART INC.; WAL-MART STORES EAST, LP; NORAMCO, INC.; and CARL N. HOOKER. Defendants. TABLE OF CONTENTS COMPLAINT ................................................................................................................................. 1 I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 2 A. The Opioid Crisis in West Virginia ........................................................................ 2 1. The Numbers are Staggering ...................................................................... 5 B. The Opioid Crisis Nationally .................................................................................. 6 C. The Impact of Opioids on Hospitals ..................................................................... 13 D. Financial Impact of Defendants’ Activities on Plaintiffs ..................................... 16 E. The Roles of Defendants in Causing and Perpetuating the Opioid Crisis ............ 19 II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE ....................................................................................... 22 III. PARTIES .......................................................................................................................... 23 A. Plaintiffs ................................................................................................................ 23 1. Appalachian Regional Healthcare ............................................................. 23 2. Bluefield Regional Medical Center .......................................................... 23 3. Charleston Area Medical Center ............................................................... 23 4. Davis Health System Affiliates ................................................................. 24 5. Grafton City Hospital ................................................................................ 24 6. Greenbrier Valley Medical Center ............................................................ 24 7. Monongalia Health System Affiliates ....................................................... 24 8. Plateau Medical Center ............................................................................. 25 9. West Virginia University Health System .................................................. 25 B. Defendants ............................................................................................................ 27 1. Marketing Defendants ............................................................................... 27 a. Purdue ........................................................................................... 27 b. Teva and Associated Companies .................................................. 34 c. Janssen and Associated Companies .............................................. 37 d. Endo and Associated Companies .................................................. 39 e. Insys Therapeutics, Inc. ................................................................ 40 f. Abbott Laboratories ...................................................................... 41 g. Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC ..................................................... 42 i h. Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. ........................................................... 43 i. Mallinckrodt Entities .................................................................... 43 j. Allergan and Associated Companies ............................................ 45 2. Distributor Defendants .............................................................................. 46 a. AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation ......................................... 46 b. Anda, Inc. ...................................................................................... 47 c. Cardinal ......................................................................................... 47 d. H. D. Smith, LLC .......................................................................... 48 e. Henry Schein Entities ................................................................... 48 f. Miami-Luken ................................................................................ 49 3. National Retail Pharmacies ....................................................................... 49 a. CVS ............................................................................................... 49 b. The Kroger Co. ............................................................................. 50 c. Rite-Aid of Maryland, Inc. ............................................................ 50 d. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. .................................................... 50 e. Wal-Mart Inc. ................................................................................ 50 4. Defendant Carl N. Hooker ........................................................................ 51 5. Defendants’ Agents and Affiliated Persons .............................................. 51 IV. FACTUAL BACKGROUND ........................................................................................... 52 A. The History of Opioids ......................................................................................... 52 B. The Opioid Epidemic ............................................................................................ 54 C. Congressional Response to the Opioid Crisis ....................................................... 57 V. THE MARKETING DEFENDANTS’ FALSE, DECEPTIVE, AND UNFAIR MARKETING OF OPIOIDS ............................................................................................ 58 A. The Marketing Defendants’ False and Deceptive Statements About Opioids. .... 61 1. Falsehood #1: The Risk of Addiction from Chronic Opioid Therapy is Low ........................................................................................................... 62 a. Purdue and Abbott’s Misrepresentations Regarding Addiction Risk ....................................................................................................... 63 ii b. Endo’s Misrepresentations Regarding Addiction Risk ................. 71 c. Janssen’s Misrepresentations Regarding Addiction Risk ............. 73 d. Cephalon’s Misrepresentations Regarding Addiction Risk .......... 74 e. Mallinckrodt’s Misrepresentations Regarding Addiction Risk .... 75 2. Falsehood #2: To the Extent There is a Risk of Addiction, It Can Be Easily Identified and Managed ................................................................. 77 3. Falsehood #3: Signs of Addictive Behavior are “Pseudoaddiction” Requiring More Opioids ........................................................................... 79 4. Falsehood #4: Blaming Addicted Patients as “Untrustworthy” “Abusers” ................................................................................................................... 83 5. Falsehood #5: Opioid Withdrawal Can Be Avoided by Tapering ............ 84 6. Falsehood #6: Opioid Doses Can Be Increased Without Limit or Greater Risk ........................................................................................................... 85 7. Falsehood #7: Long-term Opioid Use Improves Functioning .................. 87 8. Falsehood #8: Alternative Forms of Pain Relief Pose Greater Risks Than Opioids ...................................................................................................... 93 9. Falsehood #9: OxyContin Provides Twelve Hours of Pain Relief ........... 96 10. Falsehood #10: New Formulations of Certain Opioids Successfully

View Full Text

Details

  • File Type
    pdf
  • Upload Time
    -
  • Content Languages
    English
  • Upload User
    Anonymous/Not logged-in
  • File Pages
    341 Page
  • File Size
    -

Download

Channel Download Status
Express Download Enable

Copyright

We respect the copyrights and intellectual property rights of all users. All uploaded documents are either original works of the uploader or authorized works of the rightful owners.

  • Not to be reproduced or distributed without explicit permission.
  • Not used for commercial purposes outside of approved use cases.
  • Not used to infringe on the rights of the original creators.
  • If you believe any content infringes your copyright, please contact us immediately.

Support

For help with questions, suggestions, or problems, please contact us