West Virginia's lawsuit against several drugmakers alleging the manufacturers of misguiding information about the painkiller drugs opioid will go to trial next April, as indicated by the state's attorney general.
The lawsuit alleges that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Endo Health Solutions Inc., along with Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc., caused a public nuisance by violating the state Consumer Credit and Protection Act.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey claims that the companies deceived the prescribers by engaging in strategic campaigns to promote the products. The manufacturers' strategies eventually resulted in substance abuse in West Virginia, as opioids became the common cure for chronic pain.
The attorney general accused Teva of disguised marketing of opioids as the company guided the doctors to prescribe opioids without disclosing the risks of addiction. The manufacturer even got support from third-party advocates and professional associations for the same.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is also accused of refraining the side effects of opioids from the patients by distributing education guides that included misleading information that opioids are not addictive. Another opioid manufacturer, Endo, is also accused of reintroducing a 1960's drug with a change in color and name.
In 2019, McKesson Corp. and Cardinal Health Inc. made a settlement of $37 million and $20 million, respectively, with West Virginia in similar lawsuits. Earlier in 2017, AmerisourceBergen Drug Co. also settled $16 million for fueling the opioid epidemic in the state.
The rate of drug overdose deaths is higher in West Virginia as compared to other states in the nation.
