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

Endo International

04/04/2022 11:00

By Dietrich Knauth
    April 4 (Reuters) - West Virginia is set to go to trial on
Monday against Johnson & Johnson  JNJ.N , Teva Pharmaceuticals
Industries Ltd  TEVA.TA , and AbbVie Inc's  ABBV.N  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  ENDP.O ,
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. 
    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  ABC.N , Cardinal Health Inc  CAH.N  and
McKesson Corp  MCK.N  - 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)
 ((Dietrich.Knauth@thomsonreuters.com;))