West Virginia faces off against J&J, drugmakers at trial over opioid epidemic

[April 04, 2022]  By Dietrich Knauth

(Reuters) - West Virginia is set to go to trial on Monday against Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, and AbbVie Inc's Allergen over claims that the companies fueled an opioid epidemic in the state.

West Virginia accused the drug manufacturers of creating a "public nuisance" by deceiving prescribers about the risks and benefits of opioid painkillers and of violating the state’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act.

The companies' marketing efforts caused opioids to become a common treatment for chronic pain in West Virginia, which led to an increase in substance abuse and overdose deaths, according to West Virginia's complaint.

The companies have denied the allegations.

Pharmaceutical company Endo International Plc, which was a co-defendant in the case, reached a $26 million settlement with West Virginia on March 30.

West Virginia has been hard hit by the epidemic.

In 2020, the state had a per capita opioid mortality rate of 81.4 overdose deaths per 100,000 people, nearly three times the national average of 28.3, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

There have been a wave of recent settlements over companies' responsibility for the opioid crisis, which has led to more than 500,000 deaths from overdoses in the past two decades, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 A general view of the courthouse where the three largest U.S. drug distributors are facing their first trial over claims that they fueled the opioid crisis, in Charleston, West Virginia, U.S., May 3, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan Pierson

More than 3,300 lawsuits have been filed against drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies over the crisis.

Last month, Rhode Island and Florida struck settlements to resolve opioid litigation on the eve of trials. Rhode Island reached a deal valued at $107 million with Teva and Allergen and Florida settled with Teva, CVS, Allergan and Endo for a combined $878 million.

J&J and the three largest U.S. drug distributors - AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp - reached nationwide settlements worth $26 billion to resolve state and local government opioid claims. West Virginia was one of five states that did not sign on to the J&J portion of that settlement.

(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Aurora Ellis)

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