WEDNESDAY, Oct. 2, 2019 (HealthDay News) — With a federal trial pending, the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson agreed Wednesday to pay two Ohio counties more than $20 million for its role in the ongoing opioid crisis.
The settlement comes on the heels of a $572 million settlement the company was ordered to pay New Brunswick, New Jersey, for marketing opioids in the state, the Associated Press reported.
In the Ohio settlement, Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutical agrees to pay Cuyahoga and Summit counties $10 million without admitting liability. The settlement also calls for the company to pay $5 million in legal expenses and give $5.4 million to nonprofits that fight the epidemic in northeastern Ohio, the AP reported.
Drug makers Endo, Allergan, and Mallinckrodt have also settled with these Ohio counties. Purdue Pharma has made a preliminary settlement to cover all its lawsuits, but half the states involved say they will oppose the settlement in bankruptcy court.
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