- General
- June 27, 2021
- 5 minutes read
Law: J&J To Pay $230M To Settle Opioid Case
Johnson & Johnson is a name that’s largely recognizable to many people. The medical products and pharmaceuticals company has its…
Johnson & Johnson is a name that’s largely recognizable to many people. The medical products and pharmaceuticals company has its name directly branded on many consumer-facing products and some not so directly.
While Johnson & Johnson has been famous for its medical products, it’s also been infamous for certain controversies in there, such as a $2.2bn fine levied for false marketing of its products in 2013 and another $4.7bn penalty in 2018 for claims of its talcum powder products causing cancer.
- Now, J&J is back with another settlement, this time for opioid products. The company has agreed to pay $230mn to settle a case in New York concerning its role in the opioid epidemic. It’ll pay that sum over the course of nine years to the state of New York.
- The settlement stems from a case filed by New York’s Attorney General Letitia James against several opioid manufacturers and their distributors in 2019. Among those sued in that case were J&J and the infamous Sackler Family.
- The opioid epidemic in the US has been a tragic one, where overdoses involving any opioid claimed nearly 500k lives from 1999 to 2019. For opioid abuse leading to overdoses, manufacturers like J&J are in part to blame for their excessive marketing and over-prescription of the drug.
- As it agreed to settle, J&J said it’s fully exited from the opioid business in the US. It stopped marketing its opioids in 2015 and fully discontinued the business in 2020.
- Under the terms of its ($230mn) settlement, J&J could pay $30mn more if the New York state signs into law new legislation that creates an opioid settlement fund. If so, the state would be able to receive more than $130mn of the settlement by 2022 and begin distributing it for activities tackling the opioid epidemic.
- “While no amount of money will ever compensate for the thousands who lost their lives or became addicted to opioids across our state or provide solace to the countless families torn apart by this crisis, these funds will be used to prevent any future devastation,” New York AG Letitia James said.
