VANCOUVER –
A proposed $ 150 million agreement has been reached with Purdue Pharma Canada, covering all provinces and territories to reimburse health care costs related to the sale and marketing of opioid-based painkillers.
British Columbia Attorney General David Abby said on Wednesday that this was the largest settlement of a government claim for health care spending in Canadian history.
The province has launched a proposed class action lawsuit in 2018 against more than 40 pharmaceutical companies on behalf of all federal, provincial and territorial governments to recover health care costs for “misconduct by opioid manufacturers, distributors and their consultants. ”
Ibbi said the proposed agreement has been accepted by governments across Canada and a plan is being worked out to determine how the money will be distributed based on the impact on each province.
“The money will go to support provincial programs to fight the opioid epidemic, which we believe Purdue’s actions have contributed to through fraudulent marketing,” he said.
Matthew Herder, director of the Institute of Health at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the funds could help tackle the overdose crisis, but “it all depends on how it’s used.”
“To make sure it really helps, people who continue to live the harm of the opioid overdose crisis, who have real experience on how to reduce current harm – people who use drugs – need to be central to decision-making. forward, “he said in an email.
Dr Michael Curry, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia, said he did not think the village was large enough to help anyone affected by the drugs.
“This is a very small amount of money, especially considering that BC is likely to receive, in proportion, perhaps 12 percent of the settlement,” he said in an interview.
More than 27,000 people died nationwide from toxic street drugs between 2016 and September 2021.
“We have taken this action to recoup healthcare costs and hold opioid companies accountable for their role in the alleged involvement in fraudulent marketing tactics to increase sales, which has led to increased levels of addiction and overdose,” Abby told a news conference.
He said the British Columbia government was “committed to an aggressive lawsuit against other manufacturers and distributors who put profits in front of people.”
The cost of the opioid epidemic in provincial health systems is “probably billions of dollars,” Ibby said.
“In the United States, receivables amount to trillions of dollars and led to the bankruptcy of Purdue’s hand in the United States.”
He said Canada faces the possibility of being grouped into a number of unsecured creditors’ claims under the US insolvency proceedings, where the entire group has only $ 15 million.
BC sanctions have allowed Canadian jurisdictions to prevent Purdue from liquidating their Canadian U.S. receivables payment operations, which would leave Canada without anything after the U.S. insolvency proceedings, he said.
“So in that respect, it’s a remarkable achievement for British Columbia and all the provinces of Canada to ensure that Canadians see some revenue from Purdue’s actions in fraudulent marketing.”
In the United States, more than 3,000 lawsuits have been filed by governments, unions, hospitals and other organizations in an attempt to hold pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and distributors accountable for their role in the opioid crisis.
American companies, mostly those that sell or produce drugs, are already facing agreements, court rulings and civil and criminal sanctions totaling more than $ 47 billion.
British Columbia’s Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Sheila Malcolmson, called the settlement of the dispute “an important step forward in efforts to end the toxic drug emergency in the province.”
“We know that the village will not make up for the lives lost, the terrible loss of loved ones in our communities, so our government remains steadfast in its commitment to ending the public health emergency,” she said.
Mike Ellis, assistant minister of addiction in Alberta, said in a press release that the province supports the proposed agreement.
“Like the rest of Canada, Alberta is in the midst of an addictive crisis. “The roots of the crisis began years ago with the high rate of opioid prescriptions for acute and chronic pain,” he said. “We are committed to ensuring that the Alberta part of the settlement is reinvested to fund more mental health and addiction services.”
Eby said there are many manufacturers, distributors and their consultants who remain named in the lawsuit.
“And they have been informed by this agreement that we will pursue them aggressively.”
Health Canada said the federal government was exploring “all appropriate options to hold companies accountable for (their) role in the overdose crisis if they acted improperly in the marketing and distribution of opioids.”
To limit opioid marketing to healthcare professionals, all opioid promotional materials must be reviewed by a prior authorization agency before they can be used.
“From June 2019, all advertising materials must follow exactly what is in the product monograph. Health Canada also identifies inappropriate marketing practices and strictly enforces the laws that exist today, ”a written statement from Health Canada said.
British Columbia’s application for certification of its collective action is scheduled to be heard in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in the autumn of 2023.
The province said the certification could open the door for further settlements to reimburse health care costs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 29, 2022.
Add Comment