One of the world’s largest drug manufacturers, Johnson and Johnson, has gone on trial in a multi-billion dollar lawsuit by the US State of Oklahoma.
Prosecutors have accused the firm of deceptively marketing painkillers and downplaying addiction risks, fueling a so-called “opioid epidemic”. Johnson & Johnson denies wrongdoing and says it marketed products responsibly. It is the first of 2,000 cases brought by state, local and tribal governments against pharmaceutical firms in the US.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on average, 130 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day. In its court filing, Oklahoma alleged that Johnson & Johnson was the “kingpin” behind the worst man-made public health crisis in the state’s history, growing and importing raw materials which other drug-makers used for their own products.
