Dec. 29 (UPI) — The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that AmerisourceBergen, one of the nation’s largest drug manufacturers, consistently failed to report “at least hundreds of thousands” of suspicious opioid drug prescriptions.
“AmerisourceBergen Corporation, one of the largest and highest-earning companies in the country, has for years violated this critical responsibility in distributing controlled substances to customers across the country,” reads the text of the lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The suit alleges that AmerisourceBergen filled suspicious opioid prescriptions while knowing the medication could likely be illegally distributed.
“Defendants repeatedly refused or negligently failed to report suspicious orders placed by pharmacy customers that Defendants had reason to know were allowing opioids and other controlled substances to be diverted into illegal channels,” reads the suit. “This includes instances in which Defendants knew that opioids they distributed were likely being sold in pharmacies’ parking lots for cash but they continued to supply those pharmacies with huge amounts of opioids anyway.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 107,622 people died from overdose in the United States in 2021, a 15% increase from 2020’s figure of 93,655 overdose deaths.
Multiple companies that manufacture and sell prescription pharmaceuticals have paid large settlements to resolve opioid-related lawsuits. In November, Walmart agreed to pay $3.1 billion to local governments and Indian Nations to resolve a flurry of lawsuits. CVS and Walgreens agreed to pay approximately $5 billion each to resolve opioid-related lawsuits in November.
AmerisourceBergen already faced litigation over its role in the opioid crisis, paying $1.6 billion in February to settle thousands of lawsuits brought against the drug company.
