Fentanyl Manufacturer Faces Mounting Lawsuits

The Takeaway | Oct 12, 2017

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview. 

Last year, the synthetic opioid Fentanyl killed nearly 900 people in New Jersey alone. A decade ago, that number represented nearly the total number of Fentanyl deaths across the U.S. Now the Garden State is saying pharmaceutical companies are largely to blame.

Last week New Jersey filed a lawsuit against drug maker Insys Therapeutics, claiming it unlawfully pushed its opioid-Fentanyl prescription to a broad population when it was only FDA approved for a narrow set of people suffering from cancer.

Stephen Stirling of NJ Advance Media has reported on New Jersey’s disproportionate numbers of opioid overdose deaths. But he says that New Jersey is not the only state going after pharmaceutical companies for their role in the crisis.

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich. 

 

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