Big Pharma must face lawsuit over opioids in Delaware, judge rules
A lawsuit against Big Pharma will stay in Delaware Superior Court despite the efforts of a drug distributor to have the case moved into federal court — where many of these suits are being heard and consolidated into one larger case. United States District Court Judge Richard Andrews issued the order...in regard to Delaware's case against drug manufacturers, distributors and drugstores...McKesson Corp., a wholesale drug distributor...argued that the charges it faces...fall under the Federal Controlled Substances Act and should not be heard in state court, according to the court filing. The judge...disagreed...The ruling is significant...as many of these cases...have reached the federal courts and are being consolidated as a result. The consolidation efforts headed by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster aim to free up courtrooms and hopefully reach resolutions sooner, especially as new cities and counties across the country file these suits daily...But the fillings continue both nationwide and locally...“Opioid manufacturers misrepresented the addictive nature of their products. They, along with national opioid distributors and national pharmacies, knew that they were shipping quantities of opioids around the country so enormous that they could not possibly all be for legitimate medical purposes...” said state Attorney General Matt Denn...Nearly all the companies named in Denn's lawsuit told The News Journal that they are committed to addressing the opioid epidemic and either hope to be a part of the conversation around how to fix it or have already taken steps to address addiction...