J&J to pay 1/2 billion in fines...open the flood gates
Pharmaceutical company Johnson &
Johnson has been ordered to pay more than half a billion dollars for its
part in fuelling the opioid epidemic, which has led to tens of
thousands of deaths a year in the United States.
The order to pay $572m (£468m)
comes from an Oklahoma judge, in a case that has been closely
watched to see if a court would hold the drugmaker responsible for its
contribution to the American crisis. It marks the first major blow
for the pharmaceutical industry on the issue, as it faces numerous lawsuits
across the country from states and municipalities torn by the impact of the
potent drugs.
In his ruling, Judge Thad
Balkman found that the state of Oklahoma had met its burden of proof in
accusing Johnson & Johnson, through its subsidiary Janssen, of
creating a public nuisance by spreading misinformation about the painkillers.
The companies, Oklahoma attorney
general Mike Hunter alleged in the state’s lawsuit, had used deceptive and
aggressive marketing campaigns to push the addictive drugs and their use across
the country.
“Specifically, defendants caused an
opioid crisis that’s evidenced by increased rates of addiction, overdose deaths
and neonatal abstinence syndrome,” Mr Balkman said. He described the
opioid crisis as an “imminent danger and menace”.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 2:06 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
That fine is nothing compared to what they have made selling this addiction creating drugs. They should have been forced to pay a fine equal to all the profits they made selling this poison if you ask me
and one of the biggest offenders, the owners of Purdue Pharm... are now giving up control of their. I wonder how much Massachusetts is going to get in mitigation funds from Purdue.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/27/purdue-pharma-offers-10-12-billion-to-settle-opioid-claims.html
The wealthy Sackler family would give up control of Purdue Pharma as part of a court settlement being negotiated with the drug maker accused of fueling the opioid crisis, newspapers reported on Wednesday.
The Sacklers would personally contribute $3 billion to a legal settlement that could reach as much as $10 to $12 billion, The New York Times and other newspapers said.
Details of the settlement talks with the Sacklers, who have been major contributors to museums and art galleries around the world, were first reported on Tuesday by NBC News.
Purdue Pharma, whose prescription painkiller OxyContin is blamed for much of the US opioid addiction epidemic, is facing thousands of state and federal lawsuits.
The settlement talks involving a federal judge in Cleveland, Ohio, are aimed at reaching a global agreement and averting lengthy and costly legal proceedings.
According to the Times, a tentative negotiated agreement calls for Purdue Pharma to be restructured under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws.
Purdue Pharma would become a "public beneficiary trust" and the Sackler family would no longer be involved with the company, the Times said.
The Sacklers would personally contribute $3 billion to the settlement and another $1.5 billion from the sale of another drug company they own, Mundipharma.
A protest outside the Louvre museum in Paris calling for it to cut ties with the Sacklers
As part of the settlement, the company would also reportedly provide addiction treatment drugs to the public at no cost.
'Wasteful litigation
In a statement, Purdue Pharma said that while it "is prepared to defend itself vigorously in the opioid litigation, the company has made clear that it sees little good coming from years of wasteful litigation and appeals."
"The people and communities affected by the opioid crisis need help now," the drug maker said. "Purdue believes a constructive global resolution is the best path forward, and the company is actively working with the state attorneys general and other plaintiffs to achieve this outcome."
Purdue reached a $270 million out-of-court settlement with the state of Oklahoma in March and another company, Johnson & Johnson, was ordered by an Oklahoma judge on Tuesday to pay $572 million for its role in fueling the opioid crisis.
Judge Thad Balkman said the $572 million would cover estimates of just one year of "abatement," or mitigation efforts related to the rash of addiction and overdose deaths the state has experienced.
What a mess
root cause of this mess is greed
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