West Virginia is set to go to trial on Monday against Johnson & Johnson , Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries and AbbVie’s Allergen over claims that the companies fuelled an opioid epidemic in the state.
The companies’ marketing efforts caused opioids to become a common treatment for chronic pain in West Virginia, which led to an increase in substance abuse and overdose deaths, according to West Virginia’s complaint.Pharmaceutical company Endo International, which was a co-defendant in the case, reached a $26m settlement with West Virginia on March 30.
There has been a wave of recent settlements over companies’ responsibility for the opioid crisis, which has led to more than 500,000 deaths from overdoses in the past two decades, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.