Johnson & Johnson hit with $572m fine in landmark ruling
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has been forced to pay $572m following a landmark ruling by an Oklahoma court that found it guilty of running a "false and dangerous" sales campaign that caused addiction and death.
Dow Jones I.A.
38,085.80
04:30 15/10/20
Johnson & Johnson
$146.82
11:09 25/04/24
That state's lawyers labelled Johnson & Johnson a "kingpin" in the driving of America's opioid epidemic in the first judgement of its kind against the drug industry.
In his damning 42-page decision, Judge Thad Balkman ruled that Johnson & Johnson was widely responsible for helping to create the worst drug epidemic in US history.
Balkman said Johnson & Johnson had not only aggressively pushed false claims about the safety and effectiveness of its own narcotic painkillers, but that it also changed medical practice with its "deceptive" claims designed to remove caution surrounding the prescription of opioids among medical professionals.
The judge said its actions were tantamount to using its massive resources to fund and promote narcotics.
"Those actions compromised the health and safety of thousands of Oklahomans. The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans," Balkman said in his ruling.
Johnson & Johnson vigorously denied wrongdoing and asked for the fine, which will be used for the care and treatment of opioid addicts, to be put on hold during its appeal process, which could last until 2021.
Earlier in the year, the state of Oklahoma settled with OxyContin developer Purdue Pharma for $270m and Teva Pharmaceutical for $85m.
As of 0840 BST, J&J shares were up 1.44% at $129.64 each.