Johnson & Johnson settle for Ohio counties for $ 20 million before the opioid trial
Johnson & Johnson and pharmaceutical subsidiary Janssen agreed to a $ 20.4 million settlement with two counties in Ohio on Tuesday in an effort to avoid a lengthy and costly federal lawsuit over the opioid addiction epidemic.
The opioid manufacturing company said settlement with Cuyahoga and the summits has no admission of liability and removes Johnson & Johnson from the federal lawsuit scheduled to begin this month in the Northern District of Ohio, according to a news release.
"The settlement allows the company to avoid the resource demands and uncertainty in a lawsuit as it continues to seek meaningful progress in meeting the nation's opioid crisis," Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday.
Johnson & Johnson will pay a total settlement of $ 1[ads1]0 million in addition to reimbursing the counties $ 5 million for costs used to prepare litigation and donate an additional $ 5.4 million in charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations with opioid-related programs.
A number of companies are scheduled to meet the federal lawsuit Oct. 21 in the U.S. Northern District of Ohio regarding manufacturers of prescription opioids misrepresenting the risk of long-term opioid use.
Oklahoma judge ruled against Johnson & Johnson in a similar case in August, ordering the company to pay $ 572 million to the state. Judge Thad Balkman's decision accused Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary of pushing doctors to prescribe opioids while negating the risk of addiction.
In Balkman's full written decision, he stated that the pharmaceutical company's sales program was designed to reach physicians several times during careers. J&J pushed an "educational program" through sales reps, funded articles in medical journals, and paid lecturers.
None of these programs properly corrected the risk of addiction, and no sales representatives were trained in the history of opioid use or addiction. , according to court order.
"The defendant's opioid marketing, in its diversity of forms, was false, misleading, and misleading," according to the written decision.
Johnson & Johnson said after the ruling that it would appeal the ruling.
Purdue Pharma, the company that made billions of sold prescription painkillers OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in September after reaching a multi-billion dollar tentative settlement. The filing can also remove Purdue Pharma from the federal lawsuit on October 21, because all parties who want to get compensation from the company must go through the bankruptcy court.
Painkiller manufacturer still uses millions because it defends in lawsuits from 2,600 governments and other entities. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have not signed the motion to settle the case, according to state authorities.
