Attorney General James Reaches $230 Million Settlement for Treatment and Prevention of Opioid Crisis in New York, Johnson & Johnson Ends Sale of Selling Opioids

NYS eligible to receive up to half of all funds within months if
Executive Chamber signs new legislation
Law creating an opioid comparison fund

AG James lawsuit against remaining opioid manufacturers and
Distributors starts this week as part of Overall
Urge you to hold the opioid industry accountable

NEW YORK – New York attorney general Letitia James today announced an agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) – the parent company of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – that will deliver up to $ 230 million in the largest to New York State ever secured money agreement from Attorney General James. The agreement resolves claims by Attorney General James about the company’s role in fueling the opioid epidemic and provides for payments over nine years with substantial upfront payments. The deal also stipulates that J&J will have to pay $ 30 million more in payments in the first year if the New York State Executive Chamber passes new law creating an opioid comparison fund and other criteria are met. If this bill – which the state legislature passed unanimously – becomes law and all of the contending New York divisions join today’s settlement, New York would be entitled to more than half of the total payments, or more than $ 130 million, as early as February. Dollar 2022. Today’s agreement also makes a lockdown enforceable that will prevent J&J and all of its subsidiaries, predecessors and successors from making or selling opioids anywhere in New York, and recognizes Johnson & Johnson’s national exit from the opioid business .

“The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc in countless communities in New York state and the rest of the nation and millions are still addicted to dangerous and deadly opioids,” said Attorney General James. “Johnson & Johnson helped start that fire, but today they are committed to leaving the opioid business – not just in New York, but across the country. J&J no longer makes or sells opioids in the United States. We are also providing up to $ 230 million to fund opioid prevention, treatment, and education across New York State. While no amount of money will ever compensate for the thousands who lost their lives or became addicted to opioids in our state, or comfort the countless families torn apart by this crisis, these funds will be used to prevent future devastation. Our trial of the remaining defendants will begin in the coming week as we expose the callous and deadly pattern of wrongdoing these companies committed in trading dangerous and addictive opioids across our state. As always, our goal remains to get money to those ravaged by opioids as quickly as possible. “

In March 2019, Attorney General James filed the country’s largest lawsuit to hold the various manufacturers and distributors responsible for the opioid epidemic accountable. The manufacturers named in the complaint included, in addition to J&J, Purdue Pharma and its affiliates, as well as members of the Sackler family (owners of Purdue) and trusts controlled by them; Mallinckrodt LLC and its affiliates; Endo Health Solutions and its affiliates; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and its affiliates; and Allergan Finance, LLC and its affiliates. The distributors named in the complaint were McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc.

The proceedings against Purdue Pharma (and later the Sackler family), Mallinckrodt and Rochester Drug Cooperative are now all being dealt with separately by the US bankruptcy court. The trial of all the other defendants is due to begin next week.

Largest monetary recovery in Attorney General James’s tenure

Under today’s agreement, J&J will pay New York State up to a total of $ 229,862,769.25, with payments over a nine year period. The schedule for these payments will depend on a number of circumstances, including how many of the state’s political subdivisions accept and choose to accept today’s agreement, and whether the state’s Executive Chamber signs a law – approved earlier this month – The Opioid Settlement Fund, or Opioid Settlement Fund Creation Bill, is currently held by the Executive Chamber and would ensure payments are made to New York State through an opioid settlement or litigation for prevention, treatment, education and other forms of Mitigation used instead of generalized funds for the state.

Under the most aggressive schedule, with this new legislation going into effect and all subdivisions accepting the terms of the settlement, payments will be accelerated and for the first three years – a total of $ 134,330,271.65, more than half of the $ 230 million paid as soon as February 2022.

Johnson & Johnson’s Ends Nationwide Opioid Sales

In addition to negotiating the largest monetary deal since taking office, Attorney General James negotiated a substantial injunction to end J & J’s opioid production and distribution in New York and the rest of the nation. J&J has committed to cease manufacturing and selling all opioids and opioid products for distribution in New York State and to no longer ship such products within the United States. The company will also provide the Attorney General with details of when the last inventory of opioids that have already been shipped will expire.

In addition, J&J is prohibited from promoting opioids or opioid products through agents, sponsorship, financial support, or any other means; must not provide any financial incentives to its sales and marketing staff to sell these products; and will not, directly or indirectly, provide financial support or assistance in kind to any third party promoting opioids, opioid products, or products for the treatment of opioid-induced side effects primarily.

J&J will also be banned from disciplining its sales and marketing people for failing to meet opioid sales quotas – one of the main reasons J&J and other companies market opioids so heavily to the American public – and will not be allowed to use them to use, support or engage third parties with activities that J&J itself would be prohibited under today’s agreement.

J&J is also prohibited from interfering with federal, state, or local legislative or regulatory authorities regarding opioids or opioid products.

Finally, J&J needs to make additional information about opioids and opioid products more available to the general public, including patients, healthcare providers, and others. Part of the way J&J will fulfill this determination is to share clinical trial data through Yale University’s Open Data Access (YODA) project to give researchers who are qualified under the program access to allow the ownership data of the company according to the terms of the project.

Today’s agreement would also resolve lawsuits against J&J by Nassau and Suffolk counties when the county’s legislatures approve it next month. Meanwhile, Attorney General James plans to file a motion to remove J&J from the upcoming New York opioid trial, which is slated to begin next week.

Today’s deal was negotiated in concert with a larger global settlement that is still pending but could potentially end the litigation of thousands more companies, including any pending litigation from attorneys general across the country. While a global deal is still being negotiated, if an agreement is reached before February 15, 2022, New York will accede to that deal and the terms of today’s deal will be incorporated into that deal.

Regardless, but in connection with their opioid work, Attorney General James led a coalition of nearly all attorneys general in the country in February, which is providing more than $ 573 million, including more than $ 32 million for New York State provided opioid treatment and control in an agreement and consent judgment with McKinsey & Company. The deal with one of the largest consultancies in the world ended the Attorney General’s investigation into the company’s role in working for opioid companies, helping those companies promote their drugs, and making millions of dollars from the opioid epidemic.

Today’s settlement was negotiated in collaboration with a number of attorneys general and their staff. In the New York attorney general’s office, today’s settlement was directed by first assistant attorney general Jennifer Levy and brought about through the work of senior advisor and special investigator M. Umair Khan; former Counsel for Opioides and Impact Litigation David Nachman; Deputy Attorney General Noah Popp; Data scientist Gautam Sisodia; Director of Research and Analytics Jonathan Werberg; Senior Enforcement Counsel John Oleske; Assistant Attorneys General Monica Hanna, Connor Duffy, Carol Hunt, Diane Johnston, Leo O’Toole, Jeremy Pfetsch, Michael Reisman, Lois Saldana, and Jennifer Simcovitch; Project attorneys Wil Handley, Stephanie Torre, and Eve Woodin; Legal Assistant Ketty Dautruche; Paralegal David Payne; Data analyst Anushua Choudhury; IT specialists Hewson Chen and Paige Podolny; E-Discovery Document Review Specialist Kristin Petrella; and Head of the Investor Protection Bureau, Peter Pope.