NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following statement is for attribution to a spokesperson for the Sackler family defendants named in the New York Attorney General’s amended complaint.
“Expanding this baseless lawsuit to include former directors of Purdue Pharma is a misguided attempt to place blame where it does not belong for a complex public health crisis. We strongly deny these allegations, which are inconsistent with the factual record, and will vigorously defend against them.
Purdue Pharma manufactures an FDA-approved medicine that represents a tiny portion of the opioid market – never more than four percent of nationwide opioid prescriptions and currently less than two percent – while providing life-changing relief for millions of pain patients who need it.
We have always acted properly and are committed to supporting solutions that save lives by preventing addiction and abuse of prescription medicines and treating those who are suffering from addiction. That is why we are voluntarily contributing $75 million to the ground-breaking National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment, announced earlier this week in Oklahoma.
Solving this complex public health crisis will require collaboration and focus on the real problems our nation needs to address. Government data makes clear that the opioid crisis is growing rapidly because of illicit fentanyl smuggled in from China and Mexico – and headline-seeking lawsuits like this only distract from the important task of identifying real solutions to that crisis.”