PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The United States Department of Justice is suing Conshohocken-based AmerisourceBergen Corp., one of the nation's largest wholesale distributors of prescription drugs. They accuse the company of helping fuel the opioid epidemic.
The more than 80-page civil complaint, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, alleges that the pharmaceutical company and two of its subsidiaries failed to report suspicious orders of opioids for close to 10 years.
Officials say federal law requires opioid makers to alert the Drug Enforcement Administration to any suspicious orders or red flags suggesting opioids would be diverted to illicit markets.
The company is accused of not complying with these laws by failing to report hundreds of thousands of potentially suspicious orders. The lawsuit states the company may have ignored those red flag alerts and continued to sell to pharmacies, knowing they may be diverting some prescription drugs to illicit markets.
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“The government's complaint alleges that, for years, AmerisourceBergen prioritized profits over its legal obligations and over Americans' well being,” Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta said.
More than 80,000 deaths last year involved opioids, according to the CDC.
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AmerisourceBergen issued a statement Thursday, saying the legal complaint “cherry picked” five pharmacies out of tens of thousands that use them as a wholesale distributor. Further, they say the lawsuit “ignores the absence of action” from former administrators with the DEA.
If AmerisourceBergen is found liable, the company could be required to pay billions of dollars in penalties, according to Justice Department officials.