Purdue Pharma seeks to minimize its role in opioid crisis as it urges dismissal of Massachusetts suit
BOSTON — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma on Friday sought to minimize its role both in the opioid addiction crisis and as a player in the painkiller industry as it asked a Massachusetts judge to dismiss a lawsuit from the state.
The state alleges the company’s deceptive marketing of its drugs spawned the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts, but a lawyer for the company pushed back against that claim.
“The notion that Purdue has created this epidemic is a serious misperception,” attorney Timothy Blank argued for Purdue.
The arguments in Suffolk County Superior Court are the latest turn in Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s lawsuit against Purdue, members of the Sackler family, who control the company, and executives and board members.
Judge Janet Sanders did not
