‘Offends My Decency’: Witness In Oklahoma Opioid Lawsuit Blasts Johnson & Johnson’s Denial In Wrongdoing
With the emotional testimony from Oklahoma mental health Commissioner Terri White, Oklahoma for the most part wrapped up its case against Johnson & Johnson. Other news on the opioid epidemic is on the legitimacy of Insys' bankruptcy filing, the effectiveness of Kratom, and a potential vaccine for addiction, as well.
The state of Oklahoma on Wednesday wrapped up most of its case against Johnson & Johnson, in a historic trial that is testing whether a state can make a pharmaceutical company pay for the opioid epidemic impacting its residents. After 22 days, the state's case came close to concluding with fiery and emotional testimony from Oklahoma mental health commissioner Terri White, who said Johnson & Johnson's claim it bears zero responsibility for the state's opioid crisis "offends my decency." (Drash, 6/26)
The fate of thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold drugmakers responsible for fuelling the U.S. opioid epidemic hinges in part on a thorny legal question: Can a company use a bankruptcy to stop lawsuits from cities and states? U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross is expected in July to decide whether to halt more than 160 active lawsuits brought by state attorneys general, cities and counties against opioid manufacturer Insys Therapeutics Inc. When it filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware earlier this month, Insys requested the cases be paused. (6/26)
Federal health officials issued warnings Tuesday聽to two companies they say make unproven claims about the potential health benefits of the herbal supplement kratom. Cali Botanicals of Folsom, California, and Kratom NC of Wilmington, North Carolina, illegally sold product containing kratom that claimed to treat or cure opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms as well as other health conditions the supplement is not proven to treat, the聽U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.聽(Miller, 6/26)
Fentanyl is a deadly part of the opioid crisis. 聽The synthetic drug can be up to 100-times more potent than morphine. Now researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond have not only tested a promising vaccine, but they鈥檝e also developed a method to test other new treatments. (Noe-Payne, 6/21)
