Johnson & Johnson Settles Opioid Claims In Texas For $291.8M

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and its U.S.-based Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies have reached a $291.8 million settlement with the Texas state government that resolves its opioid-related claims made against the companies.

What Happened: Johnson & Johnson will pay its settlement sum into the Qualified Settlement Fund, which represents Texas’s allocation of the Global Prescription Opioid Litigation Settlement Agreement announced on July 23.

The settlement is related to the marketing and promotion of the companies’ opioids Duragesic, Nucynta and Nucynta ER. In a press statement, Johnson & Johnson said it no longer sells prescription opioids and stressed that its three discontinued products “accounted for less than 1% of total opioid prescriptions in Texas and the U.S. since launch.”

Related Link: Clint Eastwood Awarded $6.1M In CBD Lawsuit

Why It Matters: Johnson & Johnson was accused of downplaying the addictive properties of its opioid products and aggressively marketing them to physicians and patients. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that more than 500,000 died from the opioid crisis since 1999.

The Texas settlement doesn't require the company to make an admission of liability or wrongdoing.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the settlement, declaring it represents “the next step to bring much-needed funding for Texans who have fallen victim to the irresponsible and deceptive marketing practices from opioid manufacturers that spurred this epidemic.”

Photo: K-State Research and Extension / Flickr Creative Commons.