California Judge Delivers Drugmakers First Trial Win in Opioid Litigation

A large group of prescription medication bottles sit on a table as a man in the background stands with his hand on his head. The image is photographed with a very shallow depth of field with the focus being on the pill bottles in the foreground.

A California judge on Monday said he would rule against several large counties that accused four drugmakers of fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, saying they failed during a trial to prove their $50 billion case. Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson issued a tentative ruling finding Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Endo… Continue reading California Judge Delivers Drugmakers First Trial Win in Opioid Litigation

The Rush for a Vaccine Leaves Little Recourse for Anyone It Harms

Image of Hand holds Coronavirus Covid-19 Vaccine glass bottle.

Americans who suffer adverse reactions to coronavirus vaccines that the U.S. is racing to develop will have a hard time getting compensated for injuries from the drugs. That’s because pandemic-related claims for vaccines will be routed to a rarely used federal program set up to encourage drugmakers to help combat public health emergencies. It spares… Continue reading The Rush for a Vaccine Leaves Little Recourse for Anyone It Harms

Opioid Executive John Kapoor Found Guilty In Landmark Bribery Case

CA Supreme Court ruling on asbestos case

A jury in Boston has found onetime billionaire and drug company executive John Kapoor and his four co-defendants guilty of a racketeering conspiracy. The verdict came Wednesday after 15 days of deliberation. The federal government accused Kapoor, the founder of Insys Therapeutics, and his co-defendants of running a nationwide bribery scheme. Between 2012 and 2015,… Continue reading Opioid Executive John Kapoor Found Guilty In Landmark Bribery Case

Purdue’s Sackler Family Accused of Fraud in Transfers of Opioid Profits

Members of the Sackler family who control OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma LP allegedly used a web of corporate entities to transfer funds from the company to themselves, moves the New York attorney general says were fraudulent, on the basis that the company was already insolvent or close to it. An amended lawsuit filed Thursday by New… Continue reading Purdue’s Sackler Family Accused of Fraud in Transfers of Opioid Profits

Former Insys CEO to Plead Guilty to Opioid Kickback Scheme

The former chief executive of Insys Therapeutics Inc has agreed to plead guilty to participating in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe a powerful opioid medication sold by the company, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday. Michael Babich, who resigned as the Arizona-based drugmaker’s CEO in 2015 and was slated to face trial next month,… Continue reading Former Insys CEO to Plead Guilty to Opioid Kickback Scheme

Opioid Industry Fights Efforts to Make It Pay for Crisis

McKinsey opioid settlement

Opioid makers and distributors are fighting a novel New York state law that aims to collect hundreds of millions of dollars from the industry to help defray costs of the opioid crisis, with some companies re-engineering their supply chain to avoid the new tax. Companies and trade groups have argued in three legal challenges filed… Continue reading Opioid Industry Fights Efforts to Make It Pay for Crisis

New Jersey Sues Pharmaceutical Company Amid Spiraling Opioid Crisis

Three open bottles of prescription medication.

New Jersey officials, taking on one of the state’s core industries, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that manufactures opioids, accusing the pharmaceutical company of misleading patients about the addictive dangers posed by its drugs. It was the first time that New Jersey has brought legal action against a… Continue reading New Jersey Sues Pharmaceutical Company Amid Spiraling Opioid Crisis

Opioid Makers Ask Counties for Proof of Harm

Three open bottles of prescription medication.

Purdue Pharma LP has a request for counties suing the drug manufacturer for allegedly causing the opioid epidemic: show us how we are to blame. As the number of opioid lawsuits against Purdue and other drug manufacturers reaches 1,500 and counting, the companies are pushing their adversaries to offer specific details to back up their… Continue reading Opioid Makers Ask Counties for Proof of Harm

U.S. to Propose TV Ads for Drugs Must Include List Prices

Prescription Drugs

The U.S. government, in an effort to increase pressure on drugmakers to lower costs for U.S. consumers, said on Monday it will propose requiring companies to include the price of their prescription medicines in television ads. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, in announcing the plan, dismissed suggestions by major U.S. drug companies… Continue reading U.S. to Propose TV Ads for Drugs Must Include List Prices