J&J Seeks $4 Billion Opioid Settlement -- WSJ
17 October 2019 - 6:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Peter Loftus and Sara Randazzo
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (October 17, 2019).
Johnson & Johnson has offered to pay about $4 billion to
settle all lawsuits in the U.S. accusing the company of
contributing to the opioid-addiction epidemic, according to people
familiar with the matter.
If completed, the deal would resolve more than 2,000 lawsuits by
state and local governments alleging that J&J's marketing of
pain drugs including Duragesic and Nucynta fueled the opioid
crisis. J&J sold the U.S. rights to Nucynta to another company
in 2015. The suits also allege that J&J is culpable for opioid
abuse because of former divisions, which the company sold in 2016,
that supplied active ingredients for other opioid
manufacturers.
Bloomberg News reported the amount of J&J's settlement offer
Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that three major
drug distributors were in talks to pay $18 billion to settle the
opioid litigation, and that J&J was involved in the discussions
to contribute additional money.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. also is in talks to settle
the opioid lawsuits against it by providing free drugs, according
to people familiar with the matter.
A $4 billion settlement would probably please J&J investors,
because analysts had expected the company would have to pay more.
Wells Fargo had estimated that the opioid litigation could cost the
company $5 billion to $10 billion to settle. Wall Street's concerns
about the litigation's cost have shadowed J&J stock.
In August, an Oklahoma judge ordered J&J to pay $572 million
for its role in the state's opioid crisis, following a trial that
began in May. On Tuesday, the judge said he made a miscalculation
that overstated the award by more than $100 million, which he said
will be reflected in his final order.
J&J said in August it would appeal the judgment and that the
judge's conclusions disregard the company's compliance with federal
and state laws.
The New Brunswick, N.J., company also recently agreed to a $20.4
million settlement of opioid lawsuits brought by two Ohio counties,
avoiding a trial in the case scheduled to start next week.
J&J Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk told analysts on a
conference call Tuesday regarding quarterly financial results that
the company was open to settlements of opioid lawsuits like the
ones in Ohio.
Write to Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@wsj.com and Sara Randazzo
at sara.randazzo@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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