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Johnson and Johnson have agreed to stop selling opioids in the U.S. as part of a $ 230 million deal with New York State to resolve claims that helped fuel the prescription painkiller epidemic.
The company, which manufactured opioids, including a fentanyl patch and a tablet, denied any offense, but will stop manufacturing and distributing opioids in the U.S.
The deal is part of a wave of more than 3,000 lawsuits across the U.S. aimed at forcing opioid producers and distributors to take financial responsibility for an epidemic that officials blame for their aggressive marketing of highly addictive drugs. .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that opioid overdoses have killed 500,000 Americans over two decades. Many of these deaths involved prescription painkillers manufactured by drug manufacturers and prescribed by doctors.
Upon settling in, J&J will avoid trial next week, when New York State plans to face other opioid manufacturers and distributors in court.
“The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on countless communities in New York State and the rest of the nation, leaving millions still addicted to dangerous and deadly opioids,” the attorney general said in a statement. New York, Letitia James.
“Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire, but today they are committed to leaving the opiate business, not just in New York, but across the country,” he said.
James added that the pharmaceutical company’s strong opioid marketing was partially motivated by sales staff quotas.
J&J said its “actions related to the marketing and promotion of important prescription pain medications were appropriate and responsible.”
In March 2019, James filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. In addition to J&J, the complaint was called Purdue Pharma and the members of the Sackler family who own it, Mallinckrodt, Endo and Teva, among others. He also addressed distributors such as McKesson, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen.
Cases against Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family and Mallinckrodt are being moved through the U.S. bankruptcy court. The trial against the other defendants is scheduled to begin next week.
In August, an Oklahoma judge ordered J&J to pay $ 465 million after he was found responsible in a 2019 lawsuit for the public nuisance of the opioid crisis in the state.
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