WATERBURY — The city of Waterbury plans to sue pharmaceutical companies for what they say is the fraudulent marketing of prescription opioids that has led to the drug epidemic in the country.
Waterbury Mayor Neil M. O’Leary and Paul J. Hanly Jr., partner in law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy, and Jim Hartley, partner in law firm Drubner Hartley & Hellman will attend a press conference to announce the suit Thursday at noon in City Hall.
Leaders from other towns in the state will attend the press conference as they consider joining the suit.
New Hampshire has sued alleging Purdue Pharma, based in Stamford, has downplayed oxycodone’s risk of addiction, overstated its effectiveness, claimed it is nearly impossible to abuse and failed to report suspicious prescribers. Another suit The suit, filed in South Carolina, accuses Purdue of failing to comply with a 2007 agreement it signed with South Carolina and dozens of other states over allegations of its promotion of OxyContin.
