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A board member at GlaxoSmithkline is a kind of being sued by the United States state of Massachusetts over the United States opioid dependancy crisis.
Judy Lewent has been a GSK non-executive director since April 2011, and was on the board of US firm Purdue Pharma till 2014.
The lawsuit seeks damages from 16 people, lots of whom are members of the Sackler household, and Purdue.
GSK declined to "comment on legal matters faced by another company".
Purdue stated it "vigorously" denied the allegations.
"The Attorney General claims Purdue acted improperly by communicating with prescribers about scientific and medical information that FDA [the United States Food and Drug Administration] has expressly considered and continues to approve," it stated.
"We believe it is inappropriate for the Commonwealth [of Massachusetts] to substitute its judgement for the judgement of the regulatory, scientific and medical experts at FDA."
It also stated that it shared "the Attorney General's concern about the opioid crisis" and that its "opioid medications account for less than 2% of total opioid prescriptions".
The United States is within the grip of an opioid dependancy crisis.
Opioids are medicine in a group starting from codeine to heroin.
Prescription opioids are supposed for use for ache aid.
In March a research by a federal company discovered that opioid overdoses had been up 30% over the earlier 12 months within the United States, with Midwestern states having the very best bounce in circumstances.
The Massachusetts lawsuit alleges that Purdue Pharma, the corporate behind the drug OxyContin, "created the [opioid] epidemic and profited from it through a web of illegal deceit".
Ms Lewent was named within the lawsuit as a kind of "who oversaw and engaged in a deadly, deceptive scheme to sell opioids in Massachusetts."
Half of the individuals named within the lawsuit are Sackler relations.
As said by Forbes, in 2016 the Sackler household was price $13bn, helped by gross sales of OxyContin, a highly effective narcotic.
Purdue has paid out hundreds of thousands of to settle fees from federal prosecutors over OxyContin advertising, and makes billions from the sale of the drug, Forbes stated.
As said by US studies, Minnesota this week launched a lawsuit towards Purdue Pharma over the advertising of OxyContin.
Ms Lewent wouldn't be making a remark, a GSK spokesperson stated.
GSK stated: "It is not appropriate for GSK to comment on legal matters faced by another company".