DRUG 'MENACE'
Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical giant ordered to pay £470MILLION after judge rules it fuelled deadly ‘opiate crisis’ in US state
A US judge last night ordered pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson to pay £470MILLION for fuelling a deadly "opiate crisis".
Oklahoma District Judge Thad Balkman agreed J&J may have been responsible for some of the 6,000 painkiller overdoses in the state since 2000.
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Judge Balkman, the Cleveland County magistrate, ruled that the multinational should pay a $572m (£468m) settlement in compensation.
Johnson & Johnson manufactures household products like baby powder and cotton buds as well as prescription pharmaceuticals.
Among its drugs are powerful and addictive painkillers known as opiates.
Opiates have been involved in as many as 400,000 overdose deaths in the US from 1999 to 2017, according to US health authorities.
'FLOODED THE MARKET'
Judge Balkman ruled in favour of prosecutors who claimed J&J and its subsidiaries flooded the market with the dangerous drugs.
He wrote: "The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans.
"Defendants' opioid marketing, in its multitude of forms, was false, deceptive and misleading."
The US company, worth £280billion, deliberately and aggressively marketed its drugs as wonder-cures for chronic pain, it was alleged.
And prosecutors also argued that J&J underplayed the risk of addiction to patients.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter called Johnson & Johnson a "kingpin" company that was motivated by greed.
He pointed to two former J&J subsidiaries - Noramco and Tasmanian Alkaloids - which produced much of the raw opium used by other manufacturers to produce the drugs.
The cost to Oklahoma state authorities to address the damage caused by opiate abuse will top $17.5bn (£14.3bn) over 30 years, prosecutors argued.
EMOTIONAL TRIAL
Agreeing with the state's case, Judge Balkman blasted the company for its role in the "opiod crisis" that has "ravaged the state of Oklahoma."
He added: "It must be abated immediately."
The landmark ruling - which could have far-ranging consequences to the US drugs market - concludes a sometimes emotional three-month trial.
One of the attorneys for the state, Reggie Whitten, said he also lost a son to opioid abuse.
Holding back tears, Mr Whitten said after the judge's ruling: "I feel like my boy is looking down."
Among those seated in the courtroom on Monday were Craig and Gail Box.
Their son Austin was a 22-year-old linebacker for the Oklahoma Sooners when he died of a prescription drug overdose in 2011.
FIRST AT TRIAL
Judge Balkman's verdict followed the first state opioid case to make it to trial.
It could help shape negotiations over roughly 1,500 similar lawsuits that have been lumped together before a federal judge in Ohio.
Mr Hunter said the Oklahoma case could provide a "road map" for other states to follow in holding drugmakers responsible.
He added: "That's the message to other states: We did it in Oklahoma. You can do it elsewhere.
"Johnson & Johnson will finally be held accountable for thousands of deaths and addictions caused by their activities."
DECISION 'FLAWED'
Attorney's for Johnson & Johnson said they would appeal the ruling to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
In a lengthy , J&J said that it operates lawfully as part of a heavily regulated industry.
Sabrina Strong, an attorney for Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries, said the companies have sympathy for those who suffer from substance abuse - but called the judge's decision "flawed."
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She added: "You can't sue your way out of the opioid abuse crisis. Litigation is not the answer."
Oklahoma previously reached a $270 million settlement with Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma.
And they agreed an $85 million deal with Israeli-owned Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
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