page_title: Josh Hawley
section_title: Opioid manufacturer lawsuit and investigation
hierarchical_section_title: Josh Hawley / Attorney General of Missouri (2017–2019) / Opioid manufacturer lawsuit and investigation
caption_attribution_description: English: Josh Hawley delivering a speech in Jackson, MO
context_page_description: Joshua David Hawley is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior U.S. Senator from Missouri. A member of the Republican Party, Hawley served as the 42nd Missouri Attorney General from 2017 to 2019, before defeating two-term Democratic incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill in the 2018 election. At 40, he is the youngest current U.S. senator.
context_section_description: In June 2017, Hawley announced that the State of Missouri had filed suit in state court against three major drug companies, Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, for hiding the danger of prescription painkillers and contributing to the opioid epidemic. The state alleged that the companies violated Missouri consumer protection and Medicaid laws. The damages sought were among the largest in state history, on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars.
  In August 2017, Hawley announced that he had opened an investigation into seven opioid distributors (Allergan, Depomed, Insys, Mallinckrodt, Mylan, Pfizer and Teva Pharmaceuticals). In October 2017, Hawley expanded his investigation into three additional pharmaceutical companies (AmerisouthBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and McKesson Corporation), the three largest U.S. opioid distributors.
caption: Hawley at Jackson Egg Farm
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