South Carolina has become the latest state to accuse a drug manufacturer of exacerbating its opioid drug crisis by using deceptive marketing, with the state's top prosecutor suing the maker of OxyContin. "While we vigorously deny the allegations, we share South Carolina officials' concerns about the opioid crisis and we are committed to working collaboratively to find solutions," Purdue Pharma responded in a statement. Wilson said South Carolina had the ninth highest rate of opioid prescriptions in the nation last year. But the lawsuit accuses Purdue of falsely claiming that its newer, abuse-deterrent opioids are safer than other opioid drugs. South Carolina has already won millions from another drug company over unfair trade practice allegations.

Source: ABC News August 15, 2017 17:26 UTC