Feds sue drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen over opioid sales
The U.S. Justice Department is alleging that a major drug wholesaler contributed to the deadly toll from opioids by turning a blind eye to warning signs about suspicious sales to its pharmacy customers
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department claimed in a lawsuit filed Thursday that a major drug wholesaler contributed to the deadly toll from opioids by turning a blind eye to warning signs about suspicious sales to its pharmacy customers.
The 87-page civil enforcement action accuses AmerisourceBergen Corp. and two subsidiaries of failing to properly scrutinize orders for suspicious activity.
It claims the AmerisourceBergen entities “repeatedly refused or negligently failed” to report orders from pharmacy companies they “had reason to know were allowing opioids and other controlled substances to be diverted into illegal channels.”
“When drug distributors like AmerisourceBergen fail to alert the DEA of suspicious orders of prescription drugs by pharmacies, they shirk a key obligation in dealing with addictive drugs that can end lives,” Cole Finegan, the U.S. attorney in Colorado, said in a release announcing the case had been filed.
