FILE – This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. Nevada and five other states are filing new lawsuits alleging that a pharmaceutical company used deceptive marketing to boost drugs sales that fueled opioid overdose deaths. Nevada state Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt alleges in a civil complaint filed Tuesday, May 15, 2018, that Purdue Pharma minimized risks and overstated benefits of long-term use of narcotic opioids including OxyContin. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court has denied a request by drugmakers to postpone the trial in the state’s lawsuit accusing them of fueling the opioid epidemic.
Attorney General Mike Hunter’s office says the state’s highest court handed down the decision Monday, a week after attorneys made oral presentations on the request to delay the trial’s scheduled May 28 start.
Drugmakers say they need more time to prepare.
Sandy Coats, an attorney for one of the drugmakers, Purdue Pharma Inc., hasn’t returned a call seeking comment.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter sued 13 opioid manufacturers in 2017, alleging they fraudulently engaged in marketing campaigns that led to thousands of overdose addictions and deaths. Several states have filed similar lawsuits, but Oklahoma’s is expected to be the first to go to trial.
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