Pharma marketing led to abuse and death, West Virginia to tell court

West Virginia is set to go to trial on Monday against Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries and AbbVie’s Allergen over claims that the companies fuelled 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 & 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, which was a co-defendant in the case, reached a $26m settlement with West Virginia on March 30.

West Virginia has been hard hit by the epidemic. In 2020 the state had 81.4 opioid 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 has 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 US 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 reached settlements to resolve opioid litigation on the eve of trials. Rhode Island reached a deal valued at $107m with Teva and Allergen, and Florida settled with Teva, CVS, Allergan and Endo for a combined $878m.

J&J and the three largest US drug distributors — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — reached nationwide settlements worth $26bn 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.

Reuters