Johnson & Johnson Leaves Opioid Business and Settles Lawsuit with the State of New York

By B.N. Frank

Johnson & Johnson is having a rough few years. In April, the company’s one-dose COVID vaccines was “put on pause” for a week because it had been linked to blood clots.

More recently the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by the company challenging the 2018 ruling in favor of women who developed cancer after allegedly using its talcum powder.

Of course it’s not the only company with a long history of including toxic ingredients in personal care products. It’s also not the only company that has been sued for its opioid products. However, the company has decided to stop making them.

From Newser:

Johnson & Johnson Settles For $230M, Quits Opioid Business

Deal takes the pharmaceutical giant out of huge New York trial

By Liz MacGahan, Newser Staff

(Newser) – Johnson & Johnson is going out of the opioid business in the US. It’s also going to pay the state of New York a $230 million settlement, the New York Times reports. The agreement takes them out of a trial of several pharmaceutical makers slated to start next week. The funds will be used to fund treatment and prevention programs in New York, state Attorney General Letitia James said. The opioid industry is facing more than 3,000 lawsuits nationwide, per the Times.

Johnson & Johnson’s involvement in the trial centered around products made by its subsidiary Janssen—a Fentanyl patch and a painkiller with an anti-crush coating. The pharmaceutical giant released a statement asserting that the drugs were less than 1% of the market and that their promotion was “appropriate and responsible,” the Washington Post reports. The company is still facing lawsuits in other states, NBC News reports. (Read more Johnson & Johnson stories.)