CHARLESTON – As the federal trial against three major opioid distributors continued, data showing pharmacies in Huntington and Cabell County were ordering well above the national average of controlled substances, some ordering more than five times the national average.
Cabell County and the City of Huntington sued the three largest pharmaceutical distribution companies – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson Corp. – in 2017 claiming the companies were largely responsible for the opioid crisis after the companies shipped more than 81 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills to the county of just 100,000 residents between 2006 and 2014.
At the start of the May 18 testimony, officials from AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health objected to the number of documents the plaintiffs were presenting for possible use during examination the previous evening, stating it was unfair that the plaintiffs did not give a subset list of the known documents to be used during questi
Data Expert: Distributors Increased Drug Potency in West Virginia May 14, 2021
A data expert testifying at a landmark opioid trial in West Virginia said Tuesday that the potency of prescription drugs sent to local communities increased over time, but the three large drug distributors being sued tried to discredit his analysis.
Cabell County and the city of Huntington argue that AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. created a “public nuisance” by flooding their areas with prescription pain pills and ignored the signs that the community was being ravaged by addiction.
While consultant Craig McCann of Washington, D.C., focused his Monday testimony on how many doses of hydrocodone and oxycodone were shipped to the area overall, The Herald Dispatch reported that he zeroed in Tuesday on specific pharmacies.
Winnipeg Free Press By: The Associated Press Save to Read Later
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A data expert testifying at a landmark opioid trial in West Virginia said Tuesday that the potency of prescription drugs sent to local communities increased over time, but the three large drug distributors being sued tried to discredit his analysis.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A data expert testifying at a landmark opioid trial in West Virginia said Tuesday that the potency of prescription drugs sent to local communities increased over time, but the three large drug distributors being sued tried to discredit his analysis.
Cabell County and the city of Huntington argue that AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. created a “public nuisance” by flooding their areas with prescription pain pills and ignored the signs that the community was being ravaged by addiction.
Data expert testifies firms flooded areas in opioid trial
AP, CHARLESTON, West Virginia
A data expert testifying at a landmark opioid trial in West Virginia on Tuesday said that the potency of prescription drugs sent to local communities had increased over time, but the three large drug distributors being sued tried to discredit his analysis.
Cabell County and the city of Huntington say that AmerisourceBergen Drug Co, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp created a “public nuisance” by flooding their areas with prescription pain pills, and ignored the signs that the community was being ravaged by addiction.
While data consultant Craig McCann of Washington, focused his testimony on Monday on how many doses of hydrocodone and oxycodone were shipped to the area overall, the Herald Dispatch reported that on Tuesday he zeroed in on specific pharmacies.
CHARLESTON â Drug wholesalers accused of fueling the opioid epidemic by shipping millions of opiates to Cabell County over a nine-year period continued to blame federal regulators in court Tuesday and attempted to discredit years of work completed by a data analyst.
The city of Huntington and Cabell County argued that the defendants â AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. â became culpable when 127.9 million opiate doses were sent to the county from 2006-14. When the number of shipped doses decreased around 2012, users were made to turn to illicit opiate drugs, like heroin, they said.
The defendants said they did report suspicious orders to the Drug Enforcement Administration, but never heard back and were unsure of the next step to take because of lack of communication. They attribute the volume to DEA pill quotas and a rise in prescriptions written by doctors for a population with myriad health issues.