Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2021-Nov-01

ADCANP To Get $1.5M From Alabama Opioid Settlement

Alabama Attorney General has announced to use $1.5 million from the $9 million opioid settlement to prevent child abuse because of the opioid crisis in the state.

The attorney general explained that many of the parents addicted to opioids have resulted in adverse childhood experiences to the kids across the state, and the money will be used to take necessary measures to prevent further consequences.

AG's office even provided data that stated a large percentage of children are forced to enter foster care because of parental substance abuse. It has an adverse effect on the childhood of the kids, which eventually results in the kids growing up in a drug addicted adult. The Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention (ADCANP) is determined to break this cycle of opioid abuse. The AG has even distributed a fair amount of money to ADCANP to control the crisis.

The lawsuit alleges that McKinsey used illicit marketing strategies to get the opioids sold and prescribed by the doctors and the pharmacies. The company even advised Purdue Pharma on maximizing profits of the opioids sales.

A part of the settlement amount will go towards drug courts and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences that will reduce the backlogs from opioid-related cases. Endo Pharmaceuticals and McKesson Corporation are also set to face an opioid trial beginning on November 1. Alabama Attorney General even claimed that the state has pending claims against opioid manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt and Insys.

Earlier, the New York attorney general announced a $17.5 million settlement for the Mohawk Valley to combat the opioid epidemic that affected several families in the region.

The attorney general is on a statewide tour to address the opioid disruption caused across the counties. She will visit dozens of counties throughout October and allocate $1.5 billion in funds to the counties across New York State for dealing with the opioid epidemic.

The attorney general even explained that she has announced heal New York program that will deliver a sufficient amount for prevention, treatment, and recovery programs for the opioid crisis caused in the state.  
The communities and the people of Mohawk Valley have been suffering from pain and devastation over the past two decades because of the opioid crisis, and this settlement would be a huge relief for the same. She further added that although the money would not help to bring back the lost lives, but will surely prevent a future opioid crisis.

In 2019, various opioid manufacturers and distributors faced litigation where the companies were alleged of illicit marketing of opioids to doctors, hospitals, health care systems, and others, which resulted in drug overdose among the state's population.

Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt LLC, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc and Allergan Finance, LLC are the manufacturers involved in the lawsuit. Apart from them, the distributors namely McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc. are also included as the defendants.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will pay a partial settlement of around $1.3 million to $3 million to Orange County for fueling the opioid epidemic that resulted in several deaths due to opioid addiction.

The officials representing the county said that the final settlement amount would depend on the number of counties accepting the agreement. The amount will be higher if the maximum number of counties sign the agreement.

J&J will make the first payment in the settlement in February. The funds would be used to tackle the opioid addiction in the county. It will even fund the opioid treatment programmes and support services that are designed to help the people struggling with addiction problems.

The spokesperson for Orange County said that the opioid manufacturers and distributors were aware of the addictive qualities of the drugs, yet marketed and sold them for profits. The settlement would not bring back the lost lives, but it will surely give some sigh of relief to the affected people and their families.

Orange County witnessed a 25% growth as compared to last year in the death rate due to opioid overdose. Last year, opioid overdose resulted in over 70,000 deaths in the U.S. To date, 500,000 deaths are linked to opioid overdose in the country.

Earlier, a federal judge has approved the bankruptcy plan from the Sackler family, which will dissolve the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and pay the settlement of $4.5 billion for the opioid crisis fueled by the company across the country.

The settlement plan will free the drugmaker from all the future opioid lawsuits. The company will be reorganized with new board members appointed by the public officials. The profits earned by the company will be used to prevent and treat opioid addiction among the masses in the country.

It's been three years since the company filed for bankruptcy due to the 3,000 lawsuits filed against it. The lawsuits were filed by states, local governments, Native American tribes, hospitals, unions and other entities with accusations that the company fraudulently marketed the drug to increase sales and profit.

The settlement would not affect the Sackler family's fortune, but the opioid crisis has damaged the reputation of the family. Many states and the U.S. bankruptcy trustee opposed the settlement and indicated that they would appeal against the decision.

This is not the first time that the company will pay such a penalty. Earlier, in 2007, the company was charged under misled regulators and addiction dangers of OxyContin when Purdue paid $600 million. 
The opioid crisis has resulted in more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. 

Last year, the data recorded 70,000 deaths due to opioids. 
Oregon and Arizona also signed the $26 billion nationwide opioid settlement agreement, which will be paid by the three major pharmaceutical distributors and Johnson and Johnson (J&J).

As per the agreement, Oregon will receive up to $332 million over the next 18 years and Arizona will get $549 million for opioid treatment and prevention of future opioid crisis. The final settlement amount for both the states will depend on the participation of cities and counties in the agreement.

The settlement will give some relief to the opioid affected families and individuals of the state. The amount would be used to prevent future opioid crisis and implement awareness programs to educate people about opioid side effects. It will also be used to treat the affected individuals who are suffering from life-altering effects due to opioid addiction.

Arizona declared a public health emergency in 2017 as the number of opioid-related deaths increased by 75% over five years. In 2020, the death rate due to opioids in Arizona increased to 33% more than the previous year, as 2,600 residents died because of the overdose. The death rate due to opioids decreased in Oregon between 2006 and 2018, but the state saw 462 deaths in 2020 as compared to 280 in 2019 due to opioid overdose.

The agreement guides the drug distributors and J&J to stop selling opioids and highlight suspicious opioid orders instantly for preventing illicit opioid activities.

On the other hand, Nevada rejected the nationwide opioid settlement of $26 billion, which would be paid by the three major pharmaceutical distributors, along with Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

Many states have agreed with the $26 billion agreement, but some states, including Nevada, Alabama, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia, rejected the proposal and would seek separate compensation.

Attorney General Aaron Ford said that as per the agreement, Nevada would have received $282 million over the next 18 years as compensation for the opioid crisis in the state. He further added that the compensation is inadequate and also provided data stating that Nevada witnessed a 40% increase in opioid deaths in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Ford said that Nevada is the hardest-hit state in the U.S. because of the opioid crisis, and he will make sure to get proper compensation for the epidemic. The rejection of the deal is supported by the Clark, Douglas, Humboldt, Mineral and Washoe counties, along with North Las Vegas, Sparks and West Wendover cities of Nevada.

The states still have a period of one month to sign the month, whereas the local governments have five months to accept the proposal. Forty-four states have participated in the agreement, which is a wonderful support to the deal as per the companies.

J&J will pay $5 billion, and the distributors, namely McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen Corp. and Cardinal Health Inc., will pay $21 billion of the settlement.

Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck of New Jersey announced that the state is looking forward to join the opioid settlement agreements against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and the three largest opioid distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen.

As per the settlement agreement, New Jersey could receive over $600 million from the $26 billion nationwide settlement, which will be paid by the opioid manufacturing companies.

States can decide about their participation in the agreement by August 21, 2021. Companies can decide to enter the agreement by September 4, and counties and municipal governments have to confirm their participation by January 2, 2022.

As per the settlement, J&J will pay up to $5 billion over ten years, and distributors will collectively pay up to $21 billion over 18 years. The agreement even guides that a major part of the settlement will be used for the treatment of opioid addicts and the prevention of further opioid crisis.

The agreement even orders the companies to stop selling opioids and restrict the marketing of the drugs. It even ordered J&J to provide clinical data about opioids.

The attorney general said that the opioid crisis has devastated many New Jersey families and has been a matter of concern throughout the U.S. for the past decade. He added that no amount could compensate for the lost lives and affected families, but the settlement will surely help the state and the nation to prevent the further opioid crisis.

Texas To Receive $290M Opioid Settlement From J&J

Texas attorney general has announced a settlement of $290 million with the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson over the claims of deceptive marketing by the company that fueled the opioid crisis in the state.

The state will receive the settlement amount on January 1, with 70% of the money going to the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund through the Texas Opioid Council, which will help to deal with the opioid crisis in the state.

All the companies alleged in illicit marketing of opioids have denied the wrongdoings. The spokesperson for J&J said that the company is not paying the amount for admission of liability. It even stated that the opioids distributed by the company are no longer available in the U.S. market.

The distributor faces hundreds of lawsuits across the country over the last two decades, accusing that it overlooked the addictive properties of the drugs and used deceptive marketing strategies to boost sales.

Earlier in July, Texas joined the $26 billion multi-state opioid settlement involving McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and Johnson & Johnson (J&J). The state is even expected to receive $1.2 billion from the three distributors, totalling the settlement amount to $1.5 billion.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half a million people in the United States died from opioid-related overdoses from 1999 to 2019. The attorney general even provided data that claimed the opioid death rate increased by 30% last year.

The attorney general of Louisiana and Teva Pharmaceuticals have reached a $15 million settlement to deal with the opioid epidemic and claims throughout the state against the company.

Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay $15 million over the period of 18 years to the state of Louisiana. An additional $3 million is also granted to the state as an opioid addiction and recovery plan that will be used for medicinal purposes.

Teva faces numerous litigations across the US states along with other drugmakers like Johnson & Johnson, Endo International and AbbVie’s Allergan. All the litigations claim that the companies illicitly marketed the opioid drugs without highlighting the addictions risks associated with them.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J), along with three other drug distributors, are proceeding with a $26 billion opioid settlement for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic across the U.S. Teva is not included in the settlement as the company did not offer enough cash for the settlement.

The spokesperson for Teva stated that the company is positively looking forward to settling the upcoming litigations and helping the opioid affected people by offering life-saving medicines against opioids. 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 500,000 lives have been lost due to opioid overdose since 1999 in America.

Three major drug distributors namely AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson will pay $75 million to Cherokee Nation over six-and-a-half years to resolve opioid-related claims.

In April 2017, Cherokee Nation sued the distributors for selling opioids in the black market which is against the Cherokee laws and also had negative consequences on its communities.

The attorney general of Cherokee Nation said that the settlement would help to deal with the deadly consequences of the opioid crisis that has ruined the health of the tribe members. It would also help to execute mental health treatment facilities and other programs that would speed up the recovery process of the people affected because of the crisis.

The tribe is the first among the governments across the country that has sued Big Pharma. The tribe even has pending claims against Walmart, Walgreens and CVS which the tribe intends to pursue through trial.

There are many such claims across the U.S. from state and local governments, as well as other tribal nations. It also includes an MDL in Cleveland, Ohio, but the tribe's settlement is independent of all the other claims.

Earlier, three distributors along with drug maker Johnson & Johnson reached a $26 billion settlement for the states and counties across the country for fueling the opioid crisis, but Cherokee Nation is not part of the agreement.

In September 2021, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) agreed to pay a partial settlement of around $1.3 million to $3 million to Orange County for fueling the opioid epidemic that resulted in several deaths due to opioid addiction.

The officials representing the county said that the final settlement amount would depend on the number of counties accepting the agreement. The amount will be higher if the maximum number of counties sign the agreement.

J&J will make the first payment in the settlement in February. The funds would be used to tackle the opioid addiction in the county. It will even fund the opioid treatment programmes and support services that are designed to help the people struggling with addiction problems.

The spokesperson for Orange County said that the opioid manufacturers and distributors were aware of the addictive qualities of the drugs, yet marketed and sold them for profits. The settlement would not bring back the lost lives, but it will surely give some sigh of relief to the affected people and their families.

Orange County witnessed a 25% growth as compared to last year in the death rate due to opioid overdose. Last year, opioid overdose resulted in over 70,000 deaths in the U.S. To date, 500,000 deaths are linked to opioid overdose in the country.

FDA Issues Fresh Guidelines On Breast Implants

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced fresh guidelines, including new warning labels and sales restrictions for all breast implants, considering the risks and health complications associated with the products.

As part of the latest safety requirements, the manufacturers of the breast implant are ordered to include a boxed warning on the product. It will alert the users about the risks of using the implant, including rupture, systemic illnesses and a type of cancer. One of the senior FDA officials informed that it is a big step to ensure the safety of these products.

Earlier, in 2019, the advisory committee held a meeting to address the risks associated and benefits of the implant. The meeting was followed by a thorough investigation which concluded that a type of lymphoma is common due to the usage of the implant.

The FDA has even made it mandatory for the patients to review a safety checklist. It will ensure that the patients are aware of the risks, usage and surgical alternatives specifically for mastectomy patients. FDA has mandated the move for the patients as it believes that the safety information on the products packaging box would get disposed of as soon as it is opened which will eventually result in the patients being misinformed.

The agency has even guided about restricting the sales and distribution of breast implants only to doctors and medical facilities. All these measures and guidelines are framed in such a way that none of the product's information is withheld from the patients before getting it implanted.