Johnson And Johnson Has Agreed To Stop Selling Opioids And Paid $230M To Resolve Case In NY

In a deal with New York Attorney General Letitia James, Johnson And Johnson will pay $230 million to settle the case of an opioid just days before it was due to go to trial.

According to James’ office, the firm will stop selling all opioid medications nationally as part of the deal.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ parent company, Johnson & Johnson, stopped marketing opioid medicines in the United States in 2015 and will stop distributing all of its prescription pain treatments in the United States in 2020, according to the firm.

The $230 million will be distributed over nine years under an expedited payment plan to finance the treatment and abatement of opioids in New York communities.

According to official figures, almost 3,000 people died from opioid overdoses in New York in 2018.

The settlement comes only days before the company’s trial in Suffolk County was due to begin. While the settlement eliminates Johnson & Johnson from the trial, the case against the other pharmaceutical behemoths named in the complaint will proceed.

According to a news statement from the Attorney General’s office, the settlement will also conclude litigation filed by Nassau and Suffolk counties against Johnson & Johnson if the county legislatures accept it next month.

“The opioid crisis has wreaked havoc on numerous communities across New York State and the country, leaving millions hooked to harmful and lethal narcotics,” James said in a statement released on Saturday.

“Johnson & Johnson contributed to the spread of this epidemic, but now they’re pledging to exit the opioid industry – not just in New York, but across the country.” J&J will never longer produce or sell opioids in the United States,” she said.

The trial, which is expected to be the largest opioids trial to date, will begin on Monday, pitting a plethora of pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacies, and other opioid distribution firms against New York State, Suffolk, and Nassau counties.

In March 2019, James filed the nation’s largest case against manufacturers and distributors engaged in the opioid epidemic.

Unlike previous opioid trials, the Suffolk County trial will be determined by jurors. It is the first test of the theory that painkiller marketing and distribution fuelled widespread addiction, misuse, and mortality.

“We will lay bare the callous and deadly pattern of wrongdoing these businesses perpetuated as they sold lethal and addictive opioids across our state in our trial against the remaining defendants,” James said.

The amount “is not an admission of responsibility or wrongdoing by the Company,” Johnson & Johnson stated in a statement announcing the settlement.

In a statement, Johnson & Johnson claimed, “The Company’s activities pertaining to the marketing and promotion of key prescription pain medicines were acceptable and reasonable.”