Democratic Presidential candidate Bill De Blasio, New York Mayor
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Siouxland Public Media Newscast, Noon, 05.16.19
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051619 Noon News
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is suing major pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma and its former chairman, Richard Sackler. The suit alleges the company used unlawful practices to market the opioid painkiller, OxyContin.
Miller says the company engaged in aggressive marketing techniques he described as “an octopus.”
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They employed a lot of sales representatives that went to doctors’ offices, hospitals, and clinics and marketed on a direct personal level these drugs. They got their views into medical publications.
Miller says more than two thousand Iowans have died from opioids in the past twenty years. Iowa joins four other states in this lawsuit. The state is seeking restitution and civil penalties under the state’s Consumer Fraud Act.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio came to Iowa in February when he was considering whether to run for president and now is set to return Friday, after officially launching his campaign as a Democratic candidate.
De Blasio today announced he is entering the large field of 2020 Democratic candidates. De Blasio will speak at a 7 p.m. Friday at a Woodbury County Democratic Party fundraiser.
With the addition of DeBlasio and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock earlier this week to the field, there are now 23 Democrats seeking the presidency. Bullock is making eight stops in Iowa through Saturday.
