opioid crisis News

Johnson & Johnson Says Oklahoma Judge Miscalculated Opioid Award

An Oklahoma judge made a $107 million miscalculation when he ordered consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million to help clean up the state’s opioid crisis, attorneys for the company argue in a court filing. The company …

Massachusetts, New York Signal Purdue Faces Stiff Court Fight

The attorneys general of Massachusetts and New York gave Purdue Pharma LP a preview of the opposition it’s facing in bankruptcy court as the embattled maker of the OxyContin painkiller seeks approval of a roughly $10 billion settlement stemming from …

Virginia is Latest State to Sue Purdue Pharma Family

Virginia has joined a growing number of states suing members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma for their alleged role in the nation’s opioid crisis. Attorney General Mark Herring announced Wednesday that the state has amended a lawsuit it …

Opioid Epidemic Could Threaten Europe Too: Viewpoint

As drugmakers are being held responsible for fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, it might look at though they have nothing to fear in Europe, where, it’s often assumed, opioid misuse isn’t so rampant. The European Union, though, should take a …

Oklahoma Accuses J&J of Dodging Liability for ‘Cunning’ Opioid Drug Push

Even after illegally promoting opioid painkillers to reap billions of dollars in profit over the past two decades, Johnson & Johnson has accepted “zero responsibility” for its central role in fueling a public-health crisis, Oklahoma’s top law-enforcement official told a …

Maker of OxyContin Gets Hit with Another State Lawsuit

The company that makes OxyContin did not stop pitching the powerful opioid painkiller to doctors even when its sales representatives raised concerns that they were prescribing the drug inappropriately, the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office said in a lawsuit announced Tuesday. …

Maine CDC Says Hepatitis Continues to Rise in the State

Public health authorities in Maine say the state’s sharp rise in hepatitis cases is continuing. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention says the increase in cases of hepatitis B and C in the Pine Tree State can be …

Indictment Alleges New York Pharma Ex-CEO Ignored Red Flags as Opioid Crisis Raged

The pharmaceutical industry executive hit Tuesday with criminal charges stemming from the opioid crisis doesn’t have his name on a museum wing, and his company isn’t within earshot of Apple or anyone else on the Fortune 500. Even his $1.5 …

Arkansas Judge Refuses to Dismiss Claims Against Opioid Drug Makers

An Arkansas judge has rejected a request to dismiss the state’s lawsuit against three drugmakers that alleges they made false marketing claims about the benefits and risks of opioids, contributing to an increase in opioid abuse that led to overdose …

Massachusetts Judge Says More Details in Purdue Pharma Case Must Be Released

A Massachusetts judge says more details contained in a lawsuit that accuses the maker of OxyContin of deceiving patients and doctors about the risks of opioids must be made public. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sided Monday with Massachusetts …