New York State Attorney General Letitia James has expanded an established lawsuit against narcotics manufacturers and distributors.
The lawsuit now includes members of the Sackler family, who own drugmaker Purdue Pharma.
It claims the Sacklers were involved in the fraudulent marketing campaign of the drug OxyContin and that the aggressive marketing of the drug led to overprescribing, addiction and deaths.
Purdue says that New York’s lawsuit baselessly blames them for the opioid crisis.
The company says the state wants to “vilify” them and the Sacklers over a drug that accounts for less than two percent of all opioid prescriptions. The Sacklers say their actions on the company’s board were appropriate.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone says Suffolk was the first municipality in New York to sue members of the Sackler family. Other counties joined their efforts.
Bellone says he hopes New York will win funding that can be used for substance abuse treatment and to help change the way drugs are marketed.
The lawsuit also includes five other companies that produce opioid painkillers and four distributors.
Purdue agreed to pay $270 million to Oklahoma earlier this week, the first settlement in a wave of lawsuits.
