Johnson & Johnson fined £469m for role in opioid crisis in landmark US ruling

A lawyer for the companies said they would appeal the judgement

Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries have been fined £469million ($572million) for its role in fuelling Oklahoma's opioid addiction crisis, a judge in the US state has ruled.

A lawyer for the companies said they would appeal the judgement to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

The case was the first to go to trial out of roughly 1,500 lawsuits filed against opioid makers and distributors.

It is expected to shape negotiations in similar action filed by state, local and tribal governments.

"The opioid crisis has ravaged the state of Oklahoma," Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman said before announcing the judgment.

"It must be abated immediately."

'Johnson & Johnson will finally be held accountable for thousands of deaths and addictions caused by their activities,' said Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter
Getty Images

Before the trial began on May 28, Oklahoma reached settlements with two other defendant groups – OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma for around £228million ($270million and Teva Pharmaceutical for £69.5million ($85million).

The state argued the companies and their subsidiaries created a “public nuisance” by launching an aggressive and misleading marketing campaign promoting highly addictive prescription painkillers.

It said they overstated how effective the drugs were for treating chronic pain and understated the risk of addiction.

Opioid overdoses killed 4,653 people in the state from 2007 to 2017, according to Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter.

Mr Hunter called J&J a "kingpin" company that was motivated by greed.

Judge Thad Balkman reads a summary of his decision at the Cleveland County Courthouse in Oklahoma
AP

He specifically pointed to two former company subsidiaries, Noramco and Tasmanian Alkaloids, which produced much of the raw opium used by other manufacturers to produce the drugs.

On Monday, Mr Hunter said the Oklahoma case could provide a "road map" for other states to follow in holding drugmakers responsible for the opioid crisis.

"That's the message to other states: We did it in Oklahoma. You can do it elsewhere," Mr Hunter said.

"Johnson & Johnson will finally be held accountable for thousands of deaths and addictions caused by their activities."

Defence attorney Larry Ottaway (right) listens as Judge Thad Balkman reads out his decision 
AP

Among those seated in the courtroom on Monday were Craig and Gail Box, whose son Austin, 22, was a star American football player when he died of a prescription drug overdose in 2011.

State attorney Reggie Whitten said he also lost a son to opioid abuse.

"I feel like my boy is looking down," Mr Whitten said after the judge's ruling.

Oklahoma pursued the case under the state's public nuisance statute and presented the judge with a plan to abate the crisis that would cost between £10.3billion ($12.6 billion) for 20 years and £14.3billion ($17.5 billion) over 30 years.

Lawyers for J&J have said the estimate was wildly inflated.

Craig Box (left) father of Austin Box who died of an opioid overdose, speaks with Terri White, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner
AP

The fine imposed on Monday would cover the costs of one year of the state's abatement plan, funding things like opioid use prevention and addiction treatment.

Attorneys for the company have maintained they were part of a heavily regulated industry subject to strict federal oversight, including by the US Drug Enforcement Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, at every step of the supply chain.

Lawyers for the company said the judgment was a misapplication of public nuisance law.

Sabrina Strong, an attorney for J&J and its subsidiaries, said the companies have sympathy for those who suffer from substance abuse but called the judge's decision "flawed."

"You can't sue your way out of the opioid abuse crisis," she said. "Litigation is not the answer."

Attorneys for the complainants in cases launched in Ohio called the Oklahoma judgment "a milestone amid the mounting evidence against the opioid pharmaceutical industry."

"While public nuisance laws differ in every state, this decision is a critical step forward for the more than 2,000 cities, counties, and towns we represent in the consolidation of federal opioid cases," they said in a statement.

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