|
 In a few months he had gone from taking pills prescribed for a back
injury to illicitly obtaining more of the addictive drugs from
acquaintances.
"We did not know he was abusing," she said. "At that time, there was
a lot of over-prescribing, and I think people in his life were able
to get him opioids."
The question of why painkillers flooded into Oklahoma and the rest
of the country will be the a central issue in a trial beginning
Tuesday in Norman, Oklahoma, pitting the state against two
drugmakers it accuses of fueling the epidemic: Johnson & Johnson and
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter's $17 billion lawsuit is the
first to go to trial of more than 2,000 actions by state and local
governments accusing opioid manufacturers of contributing to an
epidemic linked to a record 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state will seek to convince Cleveland County District Judge Thad
Balkman to find that the companies created a public nuisance by
using deceptive marking that downplayed their drugs' addictive risks
while overstating their benefits. Balkman will rule following the
trial, which will last eight weeks.
The state resolved related claims against OxyContin maker Purdue
Pharma LP in March for $270 million.
J&J and Teva deny wrongdoing, arguing the state lacks evidence
linking any marketing they did to doctors writing unwarranted opioid
prescriptions.
They also argue that even if they falsely marketed their products,
the state cannot prove they caused the opioid epidemic given the
role doctors, patients, pharmacists and drug dealers played in it.
"The FDA-approved labels for these prescription pain medications
provide clear information about their risks and benefits," New
Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J said in a statement. "The
allegations made against our company are baseless and
unsubstantiated."
Israeli drugmaker Teva in a statement said it has in no way
contributed to opioid abuse in Oklahoma and will vigorously defend
itself.
In the wake of Purdue's March settlement with Oklahoma, the state
dropped many of its claims against the other two defendants and
shifted its focus primarily to J&J, which it claims "acted as the
kingpin behind this public health emergency.
[to top of second column] |
The state claims J&J and Teva deceptively marketed opioids with
Purdue by retaining prominent doctors to give talks advocating use
of opioids to treat chronic rather than short-term pain. It also
says the companies funded groups that purported to be independent
and these groups in turn promoted the misrepresentations.
The state claims J&J even marketed painkillers to children. It says
the company, which formerly marketed the painkillers Duragesic and
Nucynta, also grew and imported the raw materials to make the drugs.
MEMORIES OF TOBACCO SETTLEMENT
The Oklahoma case is being closely watched by plaintiffs in other
opioid cases, particularly some 1,850 mostly municipal and state
governments that have sued the same drugmakers in federal court in
Ohio. The judge in that litigation is pushing the parties to reach a
settlement agreement ahead of a scheduled October trial.
Some plaintiffs' lawyers have compared the opioid cases to
litigation by states against the tobacco industry that led to a $246
billion settlement in 1998.
Paul Hanly, a lead lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Ohio litigation,
said the Oklahoma trial could have major implications for a
nationwide settlement.
"We will have an opportunity to see how these theories play out," he
said. "Anyone who cares about public health issues should care about
how the industry, or a portion of the industry, fares in this case."
Box said she believes "greed" in the pharmaceutical industry caused
the epidemic. Box, whose husband, Craig, will testify, said she
hopes any money the state recovers can be used to fund treatment and
research to fight opioid addiction.
"Those are the things I'm hoping come out of this," she said.
"Because at least myself and other families who lost loved ones,
nothing is going bring them back."
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Scott Malone and
David Gregorio)
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