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March 29, 2019

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New York sues billionaire family behind maker of OxyContin

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and
JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — New York
is suing the billionaire family
behind the company that
created OxyContin, joining
a growing list of state and
local governments seeking
to hold not only the firm but
its owners accountable for
the nation's opioid crisis.
The state, which averages
nine opioid-related deaths
per day, on Thursday ex-
panded an existing lawsuit
against pill maker Purdue
Pharma to add members of
its controlling Sackler family
as defendants. Five other
companies that produce
opioid painkillers and four
drug distributors, which buy
medications in bulk and sell
them to pharmacies, were
also added as defendants.
"This is an extensive lawsuit
that leaves no stone un-
turned," New York Attorney
General Letitia James, a
Democrat, said at a news In this Aug. 17, 2018 file photo, family and friends who have lost loved ones to OxyContin and opioid overdoses leave pill bottles in
conference. protest outside the headquarters of Purdue Pharma, which is owned by the Sackler family, in Stamford, Conn.
While other states and lo- Associated Press
calities have filed similar
suits, New York is taking ing and distributing painkill- facturers collaborated to of skirting systems meant tem to evade the caps, the
some novel approaches, ers in New York unless they falsely deny the serious risks to limit orders for painkillers. lawsuit alleges.
such as seeking to bar the abide by strict safeguards. of opioid addiction, and it Distributors even helped
companies from market- The suit claims drug manu- accuses drug distributors pharmacies game the sys- Continued on Next Page