Drug maker Insys Therapeutics agreed to pay Illinois $4.45 million to settle a lawsuit charging it deceptively marketed an addictive painkiller.
Illinois is among several states, cities, and counties that have sued opioid makers over how the painkillers have been marketed.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued Insys in 2016 for the sale of Subsys, a drug significantly more powerful than morphine and intended for cancer pain, according to a statement. The lawsuit said the company promoted and sold the drug for other uses such as back and neck pain, even though it wasn’t approved for them.
“Insys pushed a highly addictive opioid in complete disregard for patients’ health to increase company profits,” Madigan said.
The $4.45 million will go toward addressing opioid abuse. Insys is also required to start a program to identify prescribers abusing the product.
More states and localities are turning to lawsuits as a way to punish companies they believe are responsible for the opioid epidemic, which killed more than 33,000 Americans in 2015.
A similar tactic was used by states in the 1990s to sue tobacco makers.
