U.S. judge orders big drug companies to face opioid trial
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected efforts by major drugmakers, pharmacies and distributors to dismiss claims that they caused the nation’s opioid crisis, clearing the way for a scheduled landmark trial even as he pushes for a nationwide settlement.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, who oversees roughly 2,000 opioid lawsuits by states, counties and cities, said the plaintiffs can try to prove that drugmakers’ deceptive marketing of the painkillers caused a harmful, massive increase in supply that pharmacies and distributors did not do enough to stop.
“A factfinder could reasonably infer that these failures were a substantial factor in producing the alleged harm suffered by plaintiffs,” the Cleveland-based judge wrote.
The ruling was among seven decisions and orders totaling 80 pages from Polster ahead of a scheduled Oct. 21 trial by two Ohio counties against Purdue Pharma, the OxyContin maker accused of fueling the epidemic, and several other defendants.
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HEALTH NEWS SEPTEMBER 3, 2019 / 1:45 PM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Jonathan Stempel
3 MIN READ
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-opioids-litigation/u-s-judge-orders-big-drug-companies-to-face-opioid-trial-idUSKCN1VO2AS
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