The DOJ filed a lawsuit against a large drug company headquartered in Conshohocken, PA. The company, AmerisourceBergen, is accused of illegally distributing opioid drugs against Federal law. It is already party to a settlement in many state courts amounting to $26 billions in state court settlements. If found guilty of violation of federal laws, the settlement amounts could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The company had revenue in 2021 in excess of $214 billions.
The lawsuit claims that the company of at least hundreds of thousands of violations of the controlled substances act, according to Vanita Gupta, the associate attorney general overseeing the civil division. "For years the company put its profits from opioid sales over the safety of Americans," Phillip R. Sellinger, the U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey, told reporters. Over 90,000 Americans died from over doses in 2020. In 75% of the deaths, opioids were a factor.
The company failed to report suspicious sales of its drug to a number of pharmacies around the country and in Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,and New York. Will any corporate officers face criminal charges? After all a corporation is legally a "person"? (See Citizens United). Doubt it.
Happy New Year
No comments:
Post a Comment