Kentucky AG Files 8th Opioid Lawsuit Against Pharmaceutical Company

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear has sued a pharmaceutical company, accusing it of contributing to the state’s opioid epidemic.

Beshear says he has sued Pennsylvania-based Teva for marketing its products to treat chronic pain despite the drugs being approved for treating pain in cancer patients. Beshear called the deceptive marketing “one of the most egregious acts we have seen from a pharmaceutical company.”

A spokeswoman for Teva declined to comment.

This is the eighth lawsuit Beshear has filed against a company that either makes or distributes opioid-based medication. Kentucky has one of the highest drug overdose death rates in the country. Most of the deaths are related to opioids.

Beshear, a Democrat, is running for governor in 2019.