Johnson & Johnson liable for $572 million in Oklahoma opioid epidemic trial

[webfact]

J&J liable for $572 million in Oklahoma opioid epidemic trial, but shares surge

By Heide Brandes

 

FILE PHOTO: The Johnson & Johnson logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 29, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

 

NORMAN, Okla. (Reuters) - An Oklahoma judge on Monday found Johnson & Johnson liable for fuelling an opioid epidemic in the state by deceptively marketing addictive painkillers, and ordered the drugmaker to pay $572.1 million.

 

The award was well below what some investors and analysts feared, in what had been a $17 billion lawsuit viewed as a bellwether for other litigation nationwide over the opioid epidemic.

 

"The expectation was this was going to be a $1.5 billion to $2 billion fine," said Jared Holz, healthcare strategist for Jefferies. "$572 million is a much lower number than had been feared."

 

J&J shares rose 5% in extended trading following the decision. Shares of other drugmakers that sell opioid pain treatments, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd <TEVA.TA> and Endo International Plc <ENDP.O>, also rose after-hours.

 

Still, J&J said it would appeal, and seek to put payment of the award on hold during the appeal process.

 

An Oklahoma judge on Monday found Johnson & Johnson liable for fueling an opioid epidemic in the state by deceptively marketing painkillers, and ordered the drugmaker to pay damages of $572 million. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Judge Thad Balkman of Cleveland County District Court in Norman, Oklahoma delivered his decision in a lawsuit alleging that J&J's marketing practices helped fuel the opioid epidemic by flooding the market with painkillers.

J&J shares rose 5% following the decision.

The case brought by Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter was the first to go to trial out of thousands of lawsuits filed by state and local governments against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Hunter had been seeking to make J&J pay $17 billion to help the state address the epidemic for the next 30 years through addiction treatment and prevention programs.

The trial came after Oklahoma resolved claims against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP in March for $270 million and against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd in May for $85 million, leaving J&J as the lone defendant.

 

"Janssen did not cause the opioid crisis in Oklahoma, and neither the facts nor the law support this outcome," Michael Ullmann, J&J's general counsel, said in a statement.

 

The decision by Judge Thad Balkman of Cleveland County District Court in Norman, Oklahoma, followed a seven-week, non-jury trial.

 

The case brought by Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter was the first to go to trial out of thousands of lawsuits filed by state and local governments against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

 

Oklahoma alleged that J&J's marketing practices helped fuel the opioid epidemic by flooding the market with painkillers.

 

"Johnson & Johnson will finally be held accountable for thousands of deaths and addictions caused by their actions," Hunter said.

 

Oklahoma sued J&J to help it address the epidemic for the next 30 years through addiction treatment and prevention programs.

 

"The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans," Balkman said.

 

But in his written decision, the judge said the figure he awarded covered only one year, saying Oklahoma did not offer enough evidence of the time and costs to address the opioid crisis beyond that.

 

The trial came after Oklahoma had resolved claims against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP in March for $270 million and against Teva in May for $85 million, leaving J&J as the lone defendant.

 

The litigation has been closely watched by plaintiffs in about 2,000 opioid lawsuits pending before a federal judge in Ohio who has been pushing for a settlement ahead of an October trial.

 

Some plaintiffs' lawyers have compared the opioid cases to litigation by states against the tobacco industry that led to a $246 billion settlement in 1998.

 

Opioids were involved in almost 400,000 overdose deaths from 1999 to 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2000, some 6,000 Oklahomans have died from opioid overdoses, according to the state's lawyers.

 

During the trial, lawyers for Oklahoma argued that J&J carried out a years-long marketing campaign that minimized the painkillers' addiction risks and promoted their benefits.

 

The state's lawyers called J&J an opioid "kingpin" and argued that its marketing efforts created a public nuisance as doctors over-prescribed the drugs, leading to a surge in overdose deaths in Oklahoma.

 

J&J has denied wrongdoing, saying its marketing claims had scientific support and that its painkillers, Duragesic and Nucynta, accounted for a tiny fraction of opioids prescribed in Oklahoma.

 

The company also said in a statement that since 2008, its painkillers accounted for less than 1 percent of the U.S. market, including generics.

 

Lawyers for New Jersey-based J&J have said the case rested on a "radical" interpretation of the state's public nuisance law.

 

Ullmann, the J&J general counsel, in his statement faulted Oklahoma for attempting a "misapplication of public nuisance law" that judges in other states had already rejected.

 

J&J said it remains "open to viable options" to resolve the case scheduled for trial in October, including through settlement.

 

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-27

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[Tug]

Way to light should have been much more

[faraday]

J&J didn't prescribe the drugs, Doctors did, & if they were not aware of the addiction risk, then they are culpable.

 

This is different from their Talcum Powder, but to greedy people, it just looks like a get rich opportunity.

 

Don't you just love the way America has these huge court cases with stupid money payouts.

 

Edit: Unless of course I've completely misunderstood this...?

[justin case]

2 hours ago, faraday said:

J&J didn't prescribe the drugs, Doctors did, & if they were not aware of the addiction risk, then they are culpable.

drug makers lie, market it do doctors who don't know any better than to believe fake research and they profit also if they get kickbacks like free vacations for the whole family in a resort, for attending a one hour demonstration of the products they successfully prescribed enough times to patients =  $$$

 

who here knows that a pediatrician gets 60.000$ bonus each year if he convinces most of the parents to "over" vaccinate their newborn children 

[faraday]

59 minutes ago, justin case said:

drug makers lie, market it do doctors who don't know any better than to believe fake research and they profit also if they get kickbacks like free vacations for the whole family in a resort, for attending a one hour demonstration of the products they successfully prescribed enough times to patients =  $$$

 

who here knows that a pediatrician gets 60.000$ bonus each year if he convinces most of the parents to "over" vaccinate their newborn children 

First paragraph, yes I know, I have detailed knowledge of this.

 

But, my point is about doctors allegedly not knowing about the compounds containing Opioids.

 

Last para.

 

Do you mean 'here' as in Thailand?

 

[mtls2005]

Suspect "Tort Reform" will take on added significance for Mitch McConnell.

 

 

[Stargeezr]

I just like how some drugs in the USA now have possible death as a side effect.    Like there is a reset switch if you perhaps die. 555. It would be nice if the big Pharmas,   in USA would sell their Insulin cheaper.

Geezer

 

[pegman]

>$500m damages for one year in a small state and the share price went up 5%?  I don't get it. 

[mtls2005]

20 minutes ago, pegman said:

>$500m damages for one year in a small state and the share price went up 5%?  I don't get it. 

 

The state (of Oklahoma) was asking for $17 BILLION, so $572 million is probably viewed positively from investors?

 

Just a guess?

 

No clue if J&J has exposure in other states?

[soidog99]

3 hours ago, justin case said:

drug makers lie, market it do doctors who don't know any better than to believe fake research and they profit also if they get kickbacks like free vacations for the whole family in a resort, for attending a one hour demonstration of the products they successfully prescribed enough times to patients =  $$$

 

who here knows that a pediatrician gets 60.000$ bonus each year if he convinces most of the parents to "over" vaccinate their newborn children 

<deleted>, please back this up with fact

[jany123]

7 hours ago, faraday said:

Don't you just love the way America has these huge court cases with stupid money payouts.

Otto Warmbier’s family getting awarded 500 million against North Korea springs to mind.

 

thats 1 death.... perhaps JJ should pay that per death, to be fair and just, an all. Oh, wait... NK isn’t donating to political slush funds, silly me!

 

next up, sue China for supplying Fentanyl and seize their US assets... lol...Whilst I actually joke.... It would not surprise.

[faraday]

2 hours ago, soidog99 said:

<deleted>, please back this up with fact

I know, I don't suspect, that some clinicians used to be 'bonused' ie given cash for prescribing certain compounds.

 

Justin's first paragraph, is correct.

[mtls2005]

This decision, even though it will probably be challenged by both sides, is at least sending a ripple of fear through the opioid 'industry' and causing others to trot out their pro-active settlement proposals.

 

Purdue Pharma offers $10-12 billion to settle opioid claims

 

The maker of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, and its owners, the Sackler family, are offering to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion. The potential deal was part of confidential conversations and discussed by Purdue's lawyers at a meeting in Cleveland last Tuesday, Aug. 20, according to two people familiar with the mediation.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/purdue-pharma-offers-10-12-billion-settle-opioid-claims-n1046526

 

 

[Baerboxer]

On 8/27/2019 at 5:10 AM, Tug said:

Way to light should have been much more

 

Yeah, and gun manufacturers should be held liable for nutters who shoot people; car makers for <deleted>-heads who drive DUI and cause accidents; and anyone who produces anything anyone chooses to misuse.

 

J&J complied with all legal requirements in the manufacturing and selling of their products. AFAIK from their lawyer's BBC interview not one single doctor or patient were called to give any evidence.

 

Looks like a judge and the prosecution made a decision based on political correctness rather than the law. Appeal should be interesting.

[xylophone]

19 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Yeah, and gun manufacturers should be held liable for nutters who shoot people; car makers for <deleted>-heads who drive DUI and cause accidents; and anyone who produces anything anyone chooses to misuse.

 

J&J complied with all legal requirements in the manufacturing and selling of their products. AFAIK from their lawyer's BBC interview not one single doctor or patient were called to give any evidence.

 

Looks like a judge and the prosecution made a decision based on political correctness rather than the law. Appeal should be interesting.

Following on from your post, every opioid that I have ever received has been accompanied with a clear warning or a leaflet about the dangers of over medication and addiction.

 

This to me is smacks like the old, "don't take personal responsibility for what you do to yourself – blame someone else" type argument, because if you are warned about something and you still ignore that warning, who is to blame?

 

Next we will see lawsuits against Penfolds or Calvet because people have damaged their bodies with excess alcohol (red wine in this case) – – – where does it end?

 

The company never forced any individual to take their drug. Specialists and doctors may have prescribed it, and most of the time for good reason.