Londonderry Joins Opioid Lawsuit Against Pharma

LONDONDERRY, N.H. - The town of Londonderry is joining several other New Hampshire municipalities in suing pharmaceutical makers for their alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis. According to NHPR, Thomas Colantuono, a lawyer with Bianco Professional Association, who is representing Londonderry, said the case will likely be consolidated into a larger suit involving hundreds of towns, cities and states moving through a federal court in Ohio.

Lawyers representing Londonderry filed a 168-page petition in federal court on Monday accusing a group of pharmaceutical companies including Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, of false marketing and pushing prescription opioids.

“These pharmaceutical companies aggressively advertised to and persuaded doctors to prescribe highly addictive, dangerous opioids, which then turned patients into drug addicts for their own corporate profit,” reads the complaint. “Such actions were intentional and/or unlawful.”

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages to cover costs for providing medical care for people with opioid addiction, as well as associated costs for law enforcement.

In April, Concord joined filed a similar suit.

To read the full story, visit NHPR.