A brand best know for soap and child pulverization has become the first drug maker successfully sued for its part in the country ’s opioid crisis . Johnson & Johnson has been order to bear the state of Oklahoma $ 572 million to help oneself clear up the mess it make – and additional payments are still to be negotiated .
commonwealth prosecuting attorney accused the company of spearheading a years - long Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and marketing campaign that underestimated the drug ' hurt , oversold their benefits , and funded research to further their product . Judge Thad Balkman ended up side with the prosecutors after a seven - week , jury - absent trial run , calling the defendant ’s opioid merchandising " false , deceptive and misleading " in the42 - varlet decision(viaThe New York Times ) .
" Based upon my determination that the Defendants ' fake , misleading , and dangerous merchandising campaigns have make exponentially increasing rates of dependance , overdose deaths , and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome , I conclude these are unlawful turn which annoys , injures , or endangers the comfort , repose , wellness , or safety of others , " Balkman suppose in the decision .
The judge find Johnson & Johnson shamed of minimizing safety issues , taking data out of context , take out info , and hyperbolize the drug ' safety and efficaciousness .
As well as propagate misleading information to deter caution in the prescription of narcotic , the company ’s gross revenue representatives were accused of having direct mellow - prescribing professionals to boost demand for opioid products . There were close to 150,000 company visits to Oklahoma Dr. between 2000 and 2011 , the prosecution ’s evidence find .
While the party has hit back at the decisiveness – state that since 2008 , it has conduce less than 1 pct to the painkiller securities industry ( including generics ) – the State Department referred to Johnson & Johnson as the " kingpin " . country attorney argued it supplies 60 percent of the opiate element used by other drug manufacturers through poppy it oversees in Tasmania . The prosecution provided enough evidence to declare Johnson & Johnson a " public pain in the neck " , Balkman ruled .
The troupe has been ordered to yield $ 572 million , money that will go towards treatment , overdose bar , and any other opioid epidemic - related toll . Although the opinion is well below the $ 17 billion aimed for , there are additional payments still to be negotiated .
Representatives for Johnson & Johnson said its products can not be directly join to any last because they had been approved by federal regulators . Sabrina Strong , a lawyer working for the company , said : " We have sympathy for all who suffer from substance abuse . But Johnson & Johnson did not make the opioid maltreatment crisis here in Oklahoma or anywhere in this country . "
They have appealed the decisiveness .
As a first - of - its - form test , it will be interesting to see what will come about with the 2,000 or so opioid causa still in the pipeline – and whether other judges will follow Balkman ’s lead .
