The state of Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against several executives of the Purdue Pharma company. Ms. Judy Lewent, a current director of GlaxoSmithKline, is included as a defendant in these allegations. This lawsuit marks a new development in opioid litigations as it targets individuals within the Purdue Pharma corporation rather than the company itself. The state of Massachusetts has accused these key executives of both lying about the nature and risks of prescribing opioids as well as marketing these drugs to vulnerable people. Since the filing of the case, GSK has kept quiet about the issue, stating that “it is not appropriate for GSK to comment on legal matters faced by another company”.
From Financial Times:
A director of GlaxoSmithKline, the British pharmaceuticals company, has been sued by the state of Massachusetts for her alleged role in fueling the US opioid addiction epidemic. Judy Lewent, who served on the board of opioid drug maker Purdue Pharma for more than four years until 2014, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the state’s attorney-general last month. The legal action comes as US authorities step up their campaign against those they hold responsible for a crisis that resulted in 42,200 opioid overdose deaths in 2016
Full story here: https://www.ft.com/content/b0ebbf32-7ec7-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d
