FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) – Attorney General Andy Beshear today filed suit against St. Louis-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Mallinckrodt for profiting from its massive supply of opioids to Kentucky doctors and patients for decades despite knowing and misrepresenting the addictive nature of their drugs.
The lawsuit alleges Mallinckrodt, founded in 1867 and one of the earliest producers of morphine and codeine, sold and promoted its opioids by falsely claiming the drugs could be taken in higher doses without disclosing the greater risks of potential addiction. Beshear said this action allowed the company to grow its market in Kentucky while contributing to the state’s drug epidemic.
Today’s lawsuit filed in Madison Circuit Court is the seventh opioid-related lawsuit Beshear has filed.
The lawsuit alleges that the company directed “front groups” to promote opioid use and combat efforts to restrict opioid prescribing and that it failed to report suspicious orders of opioid supplies into Kentucky.
