courtesy: investopedia
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United States based pharmacy chain Rite Aid files for bankruptcy in New Jersey on Sunday amid slew of opioid-related lawsuits. This move can result in shutting down its more than 2,100 stores.
The firm and its subsidiaries were sued in March by U.S. Justice Department for missing “red flags” when pharmacists filled opioid prescriptions.
Rite Aid filled hundreds of thousands of prescriptions that did not meet legal requirements, Vanita Gupta, the associate attorney general, said in the complaint. “Rite Aid’s pharmacists repeatedly filled prescriptions for controlled substances with obvious red flags, and Rite Aid intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers.” The complained added that these practice opened the gates for illegal flow of millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances out of Rite Aid’s stores.
The pharmacy chain has denied the allegations of filling unlawful opioid prescriptions and has sought to dismiss the department’s lawsuit.
“We expect to negotiate a resolution of the opioid-related lawsuits with the various parties involved,” said company’s spokesperson to the Wall Street Journal.