July 13th, 2021
By: Henry Malone
After thousands of lives lost to opioids, big pharmaceutical companies are paying billions to make up for it.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be nearing its presumed end, a different epidemic continues to sweep the nation despite decades of counteractive efforts.
Most of those efforts have been in vain, as the opioid abuse crisis in the United States has reached its boiling point with annual deaths reaching all-time highs and thousands of lawsuits being filed against pharmaceutical companies. Johnson & Johnson, the parent company of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, has been the target of several of those lawsuits due to the role its products played in the opioid crisis over the past two decades.
Opioid abuse in the United States has wreaked havoc in communities across the country since the outset of the 21st century, despite pharmaceutical companies assuring the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription pain relievers. Opioids such as Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, morphine, codeine, etc. were marketed by manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma, and due to the perceived safety of such pain relievers, were frequently prescribed by healthcare providers.
As prescription rates rose, so did overdoses and misuses. From 1999 to 2011, prescription opioid-related deaths increased exponentially in each year, taking almost 15,000 lives in 2019 according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As a result, several states have brought lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma, as well as distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, claiming they engaged in a coordinated and deceptive marketing campaign that oversold the benefits of opioid use for pain relief while knowingly downplaying the risks and addictive qualities of their products.
For many afflicted individuals, prescription painkillers served as a gateway to other synthetic, more dangerous forms of opiates, such as fentanyl and heroin. According to a report published by the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, an estimated four to six percent of people who misuse opioids transition to heroin, while close to 80 percent of people who use heroin first misuse opioids.
The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the issue, as financial insecurity, isolation, mental health deterioration, and a lack of access to addiction support resulted in a spike in drug overdoses, particularly with opioids. The CDC claims total overdose deaths could potentially exceed 90,000 in 2020, a figure driven by opioids that represents the highest annual count on record for such deaths.
In total, the opioid-related death toll nearly eclipsed 50,000 in 2019, a new all-time high for such mortalities and roughly a 400 percent increase since 1999.
Now, all five companies are expected to pony up to a massive settlement to be distributed to counties across America, with the figure expected to reach as high as $26 billion. Dozens of states and cities have brought lawsuits against the pharmaceutical giants, with the State of New York recently receiving a payment of up to $263 million that prevents the company from promoting opium-based products and helps address opioid-related issues across the state.
“Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire, but today they’re committing to leaving the opioid business — not only in New York, but across the entire country,” New York Attorney General Leticia James said. “Opioids will no longer be manufactured or sold in the United States by J&J.”
North Carolina, another state which has been ravaged by opioid abuse, is set to receive an even more significant settlement to support its opioid relief efforts. Once the state and its counties agree on how to allocate the funds, North Carolina is expected to receive and distribute $850 million over the next 18 years to support state and local efforts against the epidemic.
“The opioid epidemic, in recent years, has taken the lives of more than 16,000 North Carolinians, torn families apart, and ravaged communities from the mountains to the coast,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “These companies helped to create and fuel this epidemic with irresponsible marketing and a lack of oversight – and they must be held accountable to help clean up this mess. I am working hard, along with fellow attorneys general across the country, to do just that. Should we prevail, today’s agreement between the counties and the state is an important step toward getting much-needed resources to communities across North Carolina as they work to address the epidemic and its aftermath.”
New York and North Carolina are just two of several states that either have already or are in the process of settling with the pharmaceutical companies that have torn apart the lives of so many of its citizens, though no amount of money will ever be able to fill the gap left by lost loved ones. Still, North Carolina plans on using its settlement funds to implement “evidence-informed strategies to address the epidemic,” while New York will look to focus funding on opioid prevention, treatment, and education to “prevent any future devastation.”
And despite Johnson & Johnson stating that its settlement agreements are not an admission of liability or wrongdoing, it is a significant step in the right direction toward not only healing wounded communities but could finally bring an end to the epidemic that has claimed 500,000 lives over the last 20 years.
About the Author:
Henry Malone received his B.A. in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2021. There, he served as Deputy Editor for the University newspaper, the Testudo Times. As a marketing and journalism intern for Clear Impact, Henry researches, writes, and edits website content and news articles focusing on the nonprofit and public sectors.
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