AG Bob Ferguson announces lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over state’s opioid epidemic

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit Thursday against Johnson & Johnson, a major opioid manufacturer and raw pharmaceutical materials supplier to other opioid manufacturers.

The lawsuit accuses the company of playing a key role in driving the entire pharmaceutical industry to vastly expand the use of prescription opioids.

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The lawsuit claims that, Johnson & Johnson, along with several of its subsidiaries, fueled the opioid epidemic in the state by embarking on a massive deceptive marketing campaign and convincing doctors and the public that their drugs are effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction, contrary to overwhelming evidence.

“Opioids have torn apart Washington families, overburdened our health care system and caused an epidemic of addiction we are struggling to contain,” Ferguson said. “Johnson & Johnson must be held responsible for the damage it caused.”

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The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, asserted that Johnson & Johnson deceptively marketed the long-term use of opioids at high doses without documented evidence of their effectiveness, ignoring the well-documented risks of its drugs.

In 2017, Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma. In March 2019, he filed suit against the three largest distributors of prescription opioids in Washington state, with a trial scheduled in October.

Rewatch Thursday’s news conference below. A statement from staff at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is also below.

RAW: AG Bob Ferguson announces lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson RAW: AG Bob Ferguson announces lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson

Statement from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:

We deeply sympathize with those affected by the tragic impact of opioid abuse and addiction.

Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these important prescription pain medications were appropriate and responsible. Janssen provided our prescription pain medicines for doctors treating patients suffering from severe pain and worked with regulators to ensure safe use – everything you’d expect a responsible company to do. Additionally, our prescription opioid medications - DURAGESIC®, NUCYNTA®, and NUCYNTA® ER – have, since launch, accounted for less than one percent of total opioid prescriptions in the U.S.

Janssen responsibly developed and secured the supply of these raw materials for important prescription pain medications that helped provide vital therapies for millions of patients living with pain across America. Our former affiliates’ products are heavily regulated by governments and drug-enforcement agencies around the world, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Our former affiliates did not have any role in the manufacturing, sale, or marketing of the finished products of Janssen or other pharmaceutical manufacturers.

We believe litigation is not the answer to public health crises, and we continue to work with partners to help communities in need.

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