One of the leading U.S. drug manufacturers Johnson & Johnson will pay $ 230m (£ 165m) to settle the claims that it had a role to play in exacerbating the problem of opioid addiction in New York State.
The firm did not accept that it committed any wrongdoing in settling the case.
Payments are being made in order to avoid lawsuit due on Tuesday, with many opioid manufacturers and distributors being the defendant parties.
Settling US Opioid Claims
J&J said the solutions were in line with an earlier agreement to pay $ 5bn to pay for US opioid claims.
The agreement with New York State also requires J&J to stop selling painkillers across America from now on.
Court’s Statement
“The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on countless communities in New York State and abroad, leaving millions still addicted to dangerous and deadly opioids,” said New York attorney general Letitia James.
“Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire, but today they’re committing to leaving the opioid business – not only in New York, but across the entire country,” she added, saying her focus remained “getting funds into communities devastated by opioids as quickly as possible.”
What Is Opioid?
Opioids are a class of potent drugs found in opium poppies that are and can be used to block pain signals between the brain and body.
They are usually found as official prescription drugs for medicine but they can also be easily found as illegal street drugs, such as heroin.
Opioid Addiction Crisis
Opioid addiction to both legal and illegal drugs has been a major problem, ongoing in countries like the US, which saw nearly half a million fatal accidents due to overdose between 1999 and 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Johnson & Johnson and America’s largest drug distributors – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson – have proposed a $ 26bn combined payment to eliminate thousands of opioid legal cases.
J&J has been challenging a Oklahoma judge’s decision in 2019 to pay the state $ 465m for fraudulent opioid advertising.
Tuesday’s opioid trial is one of a series scheduled for this year, with some continuing in California and West Virginia.
