{"id":31599,"date":"2019-06-13T15:34:53","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T20:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=31599"},"modified":"2019-06-13T15:34:53","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T20:34:53","slug":"johnson-johnson-profited-from-both-sides-of-opioid-crisis-says-epidemic-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2019\/06\/13\/johnson-johnson-profited-from-both-sides-of-opioid-crisis-says-epidemic-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson &#038; Johnson profited from both sides of opioid crisis, says epidemic expert"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_31600\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31600\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-10jun101-1920x1310.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-10jun101-1920x1310.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-10jun101-672x458.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-10jun101-768x524.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-10jun101-150x102.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-10jun101-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-10jun101-620x423.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-10jun101-1583x1080.jpg 1583w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Sue Ogrocki \/ AP<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Judge Thad Balkman speaks during discussions of the settlement between the state of Oklahoma and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. during Oklahoma&#8217;s trial against drugmakers blamed for contributing to the opioid crisis, Monday, June 10, 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first case in a flood of civil litigation against opioid drug manufacturers is in its third week in Oklahoma.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter&#8217;s suit alleges Johnson & Johnson, the nation&#8217;s largest drugmaker, helped ignite a public health crisis that has killed thousands of state residents.<\/span><!--more--><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Johnson & Johnson is the sole defendant in the case. Two other companies \u2014 Teva Pharmaceuticals and Purdue Pharma \u2014 both settled with the state before the trial began.<\/span><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/636233877&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma\u2019s lawyers say the company did more than push its own pills. Until 2016, the state says Johnson & Johnson profited from the prescription opioid crisis by cultivating a highly potent poppy in Tasmania. The narcotic refined from the plant was sold to other companies to make opioids. One of the customers was Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, one of the most prescribed drugs and a leading driver of the epidemic.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This case has brought to light another aspect of the company&#8217;s business. Johnson & Johnson also produced the active ingredient for opioid treatment drugs including Naloxone, which is used to reverse overdoses.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou would be able to profit off of a drug that\u2019s causing addiction and overdose deaths as well as profit off of drugs that are used to treat addiction and overdose deaths,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/heller.brandeis.edu\/facguide\/person.html?emplid=fed1af017db070b94ce59c13714f1e7970a787ad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Andrew Kolodny<\/a>, a psychiatrist and opioid crisis expert who testified for the state.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said Johnson & Johnson\u2019s marketing of opioids, in general, was pervasive in the medical industry, beginning in the 1990s. He claims they downplayed opioids\u2019 addiction risk, knowing that almost any opioid prescription would benefit the company\u2019s bottom line. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFrom every direction, we were hearing that if you\u2019re an enlightened doctor in the know, that opioids are a gift from mother nature and should be used for almost any complaint of pain,\u201d Kolodny said. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state says those misleading sales tactics created a \u201cpublic nuisance\u2019\u2019 which refers to actions that harm members of the public, including public health.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31601\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31601\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-28may111-1-1920x1463.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-28may111-1-1920x1463.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-28may111-1-672x512.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-28may111-1-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-28may111-1-150x114.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-28may111-1-300x229.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-28may111-1-620x472.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/06\/Sue-Ogrocki-28may111-1-1417x1080.jpg 1417w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Sue Ogrocki \/ AP<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Defense attorney Larry Ottaway gestures as he speaks during opening arguments Tuesday, May 28, 2019, in Norman, Okla., as the nation&#8217;s first state trial against drugmakers blamed for contributing to the opioid crisis begins in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Janssen&#8217;s conduct was not a nuisance,&#8221; said Larry Ottaway, representing Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals. &#8220;They provided medically necessary medications &#8230; They were lawfully subscribed by doctors in the state of Oklahoma.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ottaway read from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in his opening statement. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cStates, as regulators of healthcare practice have the responsibility and authority to monitor and correct inappropriate and illegal prescribing,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ottaway said the company\u2019s goal was to help patients.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSerious, chronic pain is a soul-stealing, life-robbing thief,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a written statement, John Sparks, Oklahoma counsel for Johnson & Johnson criticized Kolodny\u2019s testimony.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHis comments on the production of medical-grade pharmaceutical ingredients under the regulation and authorization of the DEA and FDA are offensive, sensationalist and baseless.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Burden of proof<\/b><\/h4><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both sides agree that Oklahoma is experiencing an opioid crisis. About 6,100 Oklahomans died from overdoses from 2000 to 2017, and the state has one of the highest rates of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/law.uky.edu\/directory\/richard-c-ausness\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Richard Ausness<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a law professor at the University of Kentucky who has been following the case, says the burden of proof is on the state. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou gotta connect some dots. The fact that you have an opioid crisis is not necessarily caused by the promotional efforts of the drug companies, that\u2019s, of course, the issue,\u201d Ausness said. \u201cIf they can\u2019t prove that, then they are going to lose.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initially, Hunter&#8217;s lawsuit included Purdue Pharma and Teva Pharmaceuticals. In March, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/03\/27\/707093263\/oklahoma-attorney-general-on-purdue-pharma-settlement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purdue Pharma settled<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the state for $270 million. Soon after, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/04\/04\/710101827\/oklahoma-drops-some-claims-to-refocus-lawsuit-against-opioid-makers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hunter dropped all but one of the civil claims<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including fraud, against the remaining defendants. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ausness says that decision could backfire and cost the state billions of dollars.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c[The state is] seeking money damages for the secondary losses that they incur by virtue of being the government, such as health and police protection and things of that sort. That\u2019s a real stretch for public nuisance,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bench trial \u2014 with a judge but no jury \u2014 is the first of its kind to play out in court. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma\u2019s case sets the stage for about 2,000 other civil lawsuits around the country trying to hold the opioid companies accountable. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attorneys for the state still have one more week to present to Judge Thad Balkman, who will decide the case. After that, its Johnson & Johnson&#8217;s turn.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first case in a flood of civil litigation against opioid drug manufacturers is in its third week. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter&#8217;s suit alleges Johnson &#038; Johnson, the nation&#8217;s largest drugmaker, helped ignite a public health crisis that has killed thousands of state residents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":31602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[879,33,1084,765],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31599"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31599"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31606,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31599\/revisions\/31606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}