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Tag: johnson & johnson opioids

  • Johnson & Johnson Settles Opioid Lawsuits With Two Ohio Counties

    Johnson & Johnson Settles Opioid Lawsuits With Two Ohio Counties

    The settlement is tiny compared to a recent $572 million ruling against Johnson & Johnson for its role in the opioid epidemic in Oklahoma.

    Johnson & Johnson has reached a settlement deal with two Ohio counties in the “bellwether” case for the national opioid lawsuits. 

    Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay a $20.4 million settlement to Summit and Cuyahoga counties. That includes $10 million in cash and $5 million in legal fee reimbursement. Another $5.4 million will be donated to addiction treatment and opioid-related programs in the counties. 

    “This settlement represents yet another milestone in this litigation as it gets much-needed funding into the community while at the same time providing support for programs addressing opioid-exposed babies and their families,” the counties’ attorney, Frank L. Gallucci, told The Washington Post. 

    Johnson & Johnson argued previously that its opioid products made up fewer than 1% of opioid sales in the two counties, and therefore could not be held responsible for addiction in the counties. However, it decided not to take that argument to trial. 

    “The settlement allows the company to avoid the resource demands and uncertainty of a trial as it continues to seek meaningful progress in addressing the nation’s opioid crisis,” the company said in a statement. “The company recognizes the opioid crisis is a complex public health challenge and is working collaboratively to help communities and people in need.”

    A Small Price To Pay

    The settlement is tiny compared to a recent $572 million ruling against Johnson & Johnson for its role in the opioid epidemic in Oklahoma. The company was one of the only defendants in that case that did not reach a settlement before trial. The company is appealing that ruling.

    Johnson & Johnson’s stock rose after the Ohio settlement was announced, indicating that investors see this as a win for the company. 

    Purdue Pharma and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals have also reached settlements in the bellwether case, which is meant to set the stage for more than 2,000 opioid-related lawsuits from around the country. So far, the two counties reached settlements worth a total of $60 million, The New York Times reported. However, six defendants are still slated to go to trial, which will begin at the end of the month. The jury selection will begin within two weeks. 

    More Counties To Come

    Attorneys for the counties said that they are preparing for the trial. “We continue our preparation ahead of the October 21st trial where we plan to hold the remaining opioid makers and distributors accountable for fueling the crisis that has led to thousands of deaths in Ohio and across the country.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Consulting Firm Urged Johnson & Johnson, Purdue To Sell More Opioids 

    Consulting Firm Urged Johnson & Johnson, Purdue To Sell More Opioids 

    The firm urged Johnson & Johnson to “get more patients on higher doses of opioids” and find techniques “for keeping patients on opioids longer.”

    The well-known consulting firm McKinsey & Company urged Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma to sell more of their opioid products, according to recent reports. 

    McKinsey & Company urged Johnson & Johnson to “get more patients on higher doses of opioids” and find techniques “for keeping patients on opioids longer,” according to reporting by The New York Times. High doses of opioids and long-term use are both associated with increased risk of dependency and misuse. 

    The information was revealed as part of opioid trials in Oklahoma, Massachusetts and New Jersey. 

    During the Oklahoma trial, the state argued that Johnson & Johnson used misleading and irresponsible marketing for its fentanyl patch, Duragesic, at the urging of McKinsey & Company consultants.

    Powerpoint Tells All

    The state showed a Powerpoint presentation that McKinsey consultants made for Johnson & Johnson executives in 2002, which questioned whether the company was marketing opioids enough. 

    “Are we properly targeting and influencing prescription behavior in pain clinics?” one slide read. 

    The presentation recommended specifically marketing opioids to doctors who worked with patients in long-term care and those who treated elderly people with back pain. 

    In the Massachusetts case, the state presented documents including a 2013 report from McKinsey with recommendations for Purdue to “turbocharge” sales of OxyContin, which was already linked to opioid addiction at that point. The consulting firm even recommended that Purdue begin a mail order system in order to avoid pharmacies, which were beginning to clamp down on opioid prescriptions at that time. In addition, the firm called on Purdue to target doctors with more sales meetings. 

    Stepping Back

    McKinsey & Company said in a statement that it no longer provides consulting services related to opioids. 

    “Our historical work for clients in this industry was designed to support the legal prescription and use of out clients’ products. Opioids have had a devastating impact on our communities, however, and we are no longer advising clients on any opioid-specific business on a global basis,” the statement said. 

    The consulting firm said that the presentation prepared for Johnson & Johnson was “designed to support the legal use of a patch that was then widely understood to be less susceptible to abuse.”

    Testifying at the Oklahoma trial, Johnson & Johnson representative Kimberly Deem-Eshleman said that the blunt language about marketing was “McKinsey’s words,” not those of Johnson & Johnson. However, she confirmed that the company did not terminate its relationship with McKinsey over the recommendations. In fact, the companies still work together today for “different projects.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Oklahoma Trial Of Alleged Opioid "Kingpin" Johnson & Johnson Ends

    Oklahoma Trial Of Alleged Opioid "Kingpin" Johnson & Johnson Ends

    The judge’s ruling is expected by the end of August. 

    The trial of Johnson & Johnson came to a close on Monday (July 15). The judge’s ruling could be the first to hold a pharmaceutical company responsible for playing a significant role in fueling the opioid epidemic, NPR reported.

    The company and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, was the sole defendant in the lawsuit filed by the state of Oklahoma. Prior to the trial, the state reached settlements with two other defendants named in its lawsuit: Purdue Pharma (for $270 million) and Teva Pharmaceuticals (for $85 million).

    The Kingpin

    In his closing argument, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter called Johnson & Johnson the “kingpin” of the opioid crisis. During the seven-week trial, state attorneys argued that the company created a “public nuisance” by causing harm to the public including injury to public health.

    “What is truly unprecedented here is the conduct of these defendants on embarking on a cunning, cynical and deceitful scheme to create the need for opioids,” said Hunter.

    The state’s expert witness, Dr. Andrew Kolodny, testified that the company not only practiced deceptive marketing of its opioid products, but until 2016 also benefited by manufacturing and selling raw ingredients for these drugs to other pharmaceutical companies including Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.

    “Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers have been stealing the spotlight, but Johnson & Johnson in some ways, has been even worse,” Kolodny said.

    Larry Ottaway, who defended Johnson & Johnson in the trial, argued that the company’s opioid products had just a small market share in Oklahoma compared to competitors. Ottaway further argued that the company made every effort to prevent abuse and that it was providing important medication for people living with debilitating chronic pain.

    Compensation

    Oklahoma wants the company to pay $17.5 billion over a 30-year period to compensate the state for the public health crisis.

    Judge Thad Balkman’s ruling, which is expected by the end of August, may influence the outcome of nearly 2,000 similar opioid lawsuits across the U.S. pending in federal court.

    According to NBC News, both the state and Johnson & Johnson have indicated that, if they lose, they will appeal the judge’s decision.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Expert: Johnson & Johnson Played Bigger Role In Opioid Crisis Than Purdue Pharma

    Expert: Johnson & Johnson Played Bigger Role In Opioid Crisis Than Purdue Pharma

    Johnson & Johnson is less well-known as an opioid manufacturer, but the company makes Duragesic, a fentanyl patch, and produced Nucynta, an opioid, until 2015.

    The company may be best-known for its sweet-smelling baby washes and lotion, but Johnson & Johnson has a sinister side, according to an expert witness who said that the company may have played an even bigger role in the opioid epidemic than Purdue Pharma. 

    Johnson & Johnson “did everything it possibly could to get doctors to prescribe more and more opioids,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management, according to Bloomberg. 

    “In some ways,” the company was “worse” than Purdue, Kolodny said, according to CNN. 

    Kolodny was speaking as an expert witness for the state of Oklahoma, which is suing Johnson & Johnson for contributing to the opioid epidemic. The state previously reached settlements with Purdue Pharma for $270 million and with Teva Pharmaceuticals for $85 million, although neither company admitted to wrongdoing. 

    Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has become well-known for its deceptive marketing practices and lavish rewards to doctors who prescribed lots of opioid pills. The Sackler family, members of whom own the company, have been vilified for what many see as their active management of misinformation. 

    Johnson & Johnson is less well-known as an opioid manufacturer, but the company makes Duragesic, a fentanyl patch, and produced the opioid pill Nucynta until 2015, when it sold the product for $1 billion. Johnson & Johnson had products that were natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic opioids, meaning it was active in many spaces around opioid marketing. 

    “Until I had an opportunity to review discovery documents I really was not aware of how bad Johnson & Johnson was,” Kolodny said. 

    When he had tried to visit Tasmanian Alkaloids, a former subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, Kolodny said it was “clear” that the company did not want him around. Kolodny also said that despite the fact that he has played a prevalent role in crafting opioid policy in response to the epidemic, no one from Johnson & Johnson ever reached out to him. 

    Despite the state’s assertion that Johnson & Johnson contributed to opioid abuse in Oklahoma, the company continues to deny responsibility. 

    “The testimony of the State’s witness, Dr. Kolodny, was filled with rampant speculation and conclusions not derived from facts,” the company’s attorney John Sparks said in a statement. “The evidence remains that Johnson & Johnson and its former subsidiaries appropriately and responsibly met all laws and regulations on the manufacturing, sale and distribution of active pharmaceutical ingredients and pharmaceutical products and did everything you’d expect a responsible company to do.”

    However, Kolodny maintained that the public needs to know about the role that Johnson & Johnson and other manufacturers played in the opioid crisis. 

    “All of that helped change the attitudes in this country about smoking,” he said. “I believe we can see the same benefit [from] opioid litigation.”

    View the original article at thefix.com