THE US state of Ohio last week sued five major drug manufacturers, accusing them of misrepresenting the risks of prescription opioid painkillers.
Attorney General Mike DeWine filed the suit which joins a growing number of state and local governments suing drugmakers and distributors, seeking to hold them accountable for the "deadly and costly" opioid crisis, Reuters reports.
The five companies concerned with Ohio's suit were named as Purdue Pharma LP, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Endo International Plc, Teva offshoot Cephalon and Allergan.
DeWine argued the companies helped unleash the opioid crisis by marketing such drugs as OxyContin and Percocet, overstating their benefits and trivialising their potential addictive qualities.
Janssen spokesman Jessica Castles Smith said in an emailed statement: "The allegations in this lawsuit are both legally and factually unfounded," while Purdue said, "We share the attorney general's concerns about the opioid crisis and we are committed to working collaboratively to find solutions".
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