DOJ Sues Drug Wholesaler AmerisourceBergen for Role in Opioid Crisis

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen over the company’s role in the nation’s opioid crisis, NPR reports.

The DOJ alleges that AmerisourceBergen failed to report the diversion of hundreds of thousands of prescription opioid medications shipped to pharmacies. The complaint states that company executives knew prescription opioids shipped to Florida and West Virginia were being diverted and being sold in parking lots for cash.

In a news release, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said, “Companies distributing opioids are required to report suspicious orders to federal law enforcement. Our complaint alleges that AmerisourceBergen — which sold billions of units of prescription opioids over the past decade — repeatedly failed to comply with that requirement.”

AmerisourceBergen has denied any wrongdoing. In a news release, the company said, “An objective review of the facts shows that the DOJ’s complaint about AmerisourceBergen is simply an attempt to shift blame from past administrations at the Department of Justice and specifically their agency, the DEA, to industries they were tasked with regulating.”

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