Embattled Purdue Pharma has announced a second round of funding in its partnership with the National Sheriffs”™ Association to provide naloxone overdose kits and training for frontline officers. Naloxone is a “rescue drug” that can reverse an overdose from some opioids, including OxyContin and heroin.
The second phase brings the total funding of the program to $850,000 since its inception. This new round permits the NSA to offer more naloxone kits and training free of charge to law enforcement agencies across the country, building on the pilot program launched in 2015.
As part of the pilot phase, NSA officers distributed 500 naloxone kits to 12 law enforcement agencies in Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia. The program has also allowed the NSA to reach more than 600 deputies and officers through training at nine law enforcement agencies in several of those states.
Meanwhile, the Stamford-based Purdue and its subsidiaries ”“ already the target of numerous lawsuits filed against it for its methods of marketing such opioids as OxyContin ”“ can add Jersey County, Illinois, to that list. Purdue is one of several drug companies named as a defendant by Jersey County and State”™s Attorney Ben Goetten for what he called “egregious greed, deception and misleading marketing and advertising.”
The suit alleges violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Other companies named in the suit include Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Actavis.
