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New Jersey AG EOD Media Update - 11/14/18
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New Jersey Sues Pharmaceutical Company Amid Spiraling Opioid Crisis
Nov 13, 2018 | New York Times
By Nick Corasaniti
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. -
Grewal files suit against J&J subsidiary, alleging false marketing of opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | POLITICO PRO
By Sam Sutton
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal filed a lawsuit today against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, alleging the New Jersey-based company falsely marketed two of its opioid products. -
Murphy's AG sues N.J. pharma giant for 'fueling' opioid crisis
Nov 13, 2018 | NJ.com
By S.P. Sullivan
State authorities on Tuesday accused a subsidiary of New Jersey pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson of using "deceptive marketing" to boost profits by playing down the risks of highly-addictive painkillers. -
Opioid epidemic: New Jersey sues Johnson & Johnson subsidiary for deceptive marketing
Nov 13, 2018 | North Jersey.com
By Lindy Washburn
New Jersey has filed suit against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, alleging deceptive marketing in the sale of opioid painkillers — drugs that officials said have contributed to an overdose epidemic that has claimed more than 2,600 lives in the state this year. -
Grewal announces N.J. is suing J&J subsidiary Janssen over opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | ROI - New Jersey
By Anjalee Khemlani
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Tuesday that the state is suing a subsidiary of one of its largest pharmaceutical companies in connection with the opioid epidemic. -
AG sues J&J subsidiary for practices related to opioid products
Nov 13, 2018 | NJ BIZ
By Anthony Vecchione
The state of New Jersey has filed a five-count lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, for deceiving consumers about the dangers of two of its opioid products with high potential for abuse – Nucynta and Nucynta ER, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Tuesday. -
NJ sues drug company Janssen, alleging it deceived the public about opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Rita Giordano
The State of New Jersey announced Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., alleging the company deceived the public about the dangers of two of its opioid products, including their potential for abuse and dependency. -
NJ Sues J & J Subsidiary Janssen Over ‘Scheme To Deceive Doctors And Patients’ About Opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | CBS New York
By Staff
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson which manufactures opioids, claiming the company fueled a public health crisis and mislead patients about the dangers of the drugs. -
Janssen 'Doublespeak' Fueled Opioid Crisis, NJ Suit Says
Nov 13, 2018 | Law360
By Jeff Overley
Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. fanned the flames of the opioid crisis by using an elaborate campaign of deceptive marketing, including “doublespeak” that touted the company’s opioid painkillers as unlike most opioids, New Jersey alleged in a suit filed Tuesday. -
Janssen Sued by NJ Over Opioid Sales, Marketing Practices
Nov 13, 2018 | New Jersey Law Journal
By Michael Booth
The state of New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals claiming the company used deceptive practices in the sale of two powerful opioids, Nucynta and Nucynta ER. -
Opioid epidemic: New Jersey sues Johnson & Johnson subsidiary over deceptive marketing (UPDATED)
Nov 13, 2018 | North Jersey Record
By Lindy Washburn
New Jersey targeted one of the state's most important industries Tuesday, filing suit against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson for its role in fueling an accelerating opioid crisis that has claimed more than 2,600 lives in the state this year. -
State sues Johnson & Johnson subsidiary for deceptively marketing opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | NJTV News
By Michael Aron
The state Attorney General’s Office has sued two opioid manufacturers this year, but never one based in New Jersey. That changed Tuesday when Attorney General Gurbir Grewal filed a 97-page complaint against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Raritan-based subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. -
Johnson & Johnson subsidiary sued for deceiving public
Nov 13, 2018 | 69 News (WFMZ)
By Emma Wright
New Jersey's attorney general Grubir Grewal is suing a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. -
NJ SAYS DRUG COMPANY LIED ABOUT ITS OPIOIDS BEING SAFER
Nov 13, 2018 | New Jersey 101.5
By David Matthau
The state of New Jersey has filed a five-count lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, alleging it lied about 2 of its opioid painkillers to increase its bottom line. -
New Jersey attorney general sues drug company for 'deceiving' customers on opioid dangers
Nov 13, 2018 | WABC
By Anthony Johnson
The State of New Jersey is taking on the opioid crisis by suing a pharmaceutical company. -
Grewal Announces Suit Against NJ Based Opioid Manufacturer
Nov 13, 2018 | WGBO
By Ang Santos
The New Jersey Attorney General's office is suing Janssen Pharmaceuticals, alleging the company deceived consumers about the dangers of its opioid painkillers. It’s the first such case brought by the Office against a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey. -
NJ attorney general sues opioid company over marketing
Nov 13, 2018 | News 12 New Jersey
By Staff
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced that the state is suing pharmaceutical company Janssen due to claims that the company misled its customers when it to comes to opioids. -
Attorney General Claims Drugmaker Increased Comp, Health Care Costs
Nov 14, 2018 | Workcompcentral
By Staff
A lawsuit filed by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal against Janssen Pharmaceuticals claims the drugmaker deceptively marketed its opioid products, driving up the cost of health insurance and workers’ compensation coverage for state employers. -
STATE SUES J&J SUBSIDIARY ALLEGING IMPROPER OPIOID MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION
Nov 14, 2018 | STATE SUES J&J SUBSIDIARY ALLEGING IMPROPER OPIOID MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION
By Lilo H. Stainton
Attorney General says Janssen targeted elderly, downplayed dangers, put people at risk. Company says it acted appropriately and responsibly -
New Jersey Sues Janssen Pharmaceuticals Over Two Opioid Drugs
Nov 14, 2018 | Biospace
By Alex Keown
The state of New Jersey is taking aim at a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson over opioids. State officials filed a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceutical claiming the company minimized the risk of addiction as it marketed the pain treatments. -
WABC News
Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WABC (Radio)
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WMBC News Tonight at 5 p.m.
Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WMBC
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CBS 2 News at 5PM
Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WCBS (CBS)
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News 4 NY at 5PM
Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNBC (NBC)
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NJTV News With Mary Alice Williams at 5PM
Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNET (PBS)
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FiOS1 News Morning Edition
Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By FIOS1NJ (FIOS 1)
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PIX11 Morning News
Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WPIX (CW)
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Good Day New York
Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNYW (Fox)
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News 12 New Jersey
Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By N12NJ (News 12)
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Chasing News
Nov 14, 2018 | Philadelphia, PA
By WTXF (Fox)
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WCBS-AM (Radio)
Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WCBS-AM (CBS Radio)
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WHYY-AM (Radio)
Nov 14, 2018 | Philadelphia, PA
By WHYY (NPR)
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WINS-AM (Radio)
Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WINSAM (WINS)
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WKRC-AM (Radio)
Nov 14, 2018 | Cincinnati, OH
By WKRC (WKRC)
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All Things Considered (Radio)
Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNYCFM (NPR)
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Traditional Media Coverage
Broadcast Media Coverage
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New Jersey Sues Pharmaceutical Company Amid Spiraling Opioid Crisis
Nov 13, 2018 | New York Times
By Nick Corasaniti
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 company based in the state as it struggles to contain a spiraling opioid addiction crisis. And it comes at a time when state attorneys general across the country have intensified their efforts to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for the epidemics of abuse.
Gurbir Grewal, the New Jersey attorney general, said the subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, minimized the risks of opioid addiction in its marketing messages, targeted older people and other patients with little knowledge of opioids and mounted a campaign to “embed its deceptions about the viability of long-term opioid use in the minds of doctors and patients.”
“It is particularly disturbing that so much of this misconduct took place in our own backyard,” Mr. Grewal added in a statement. “New Jersey’s pharmaceutical industry is the envy of the world, with a long history of developing vital, lifesaving drugs. But we cannot turn a blind eye when a New Jersey company violates the law and threatens the lives of our residents.”
In the absence of any significant federal action to stem the opioid epidemic, states have been leading the charge to grapple with a health crisis that has yet to be contained. In 2017, there were more than 72,000 overdose deaths in the country from opioids, a 10 percent rise from the previous year.
More than 40 state attorneys general have joined New York state in a multiyear, wide-ranging investigation of manufacturers and distributors of opioids. Eleven states, including New Jersey, have filed separate lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, a popular opioid painkiller.
“It became a state issue because there wasn’t a lot of movement on the federal level,” said Lewis S. Nelson, the chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Rutgers University. “To this date, the federal government hasn’t been very effective at regulating the practices of these pharmaceutical companies.”
In addition to the human toll, the opioid crisis has also imposed a significant financial burden that has been largely shouldered by states, Mr. Lewis said, including paying for hospital bills, drug courts and emergency response.
In New Jersey, the state also pays for opioids through public employee health plans, according to the lawsuit.
While there have been some positive trends in the opioid epidemics at the national level, including a drop in the number of overdose deaths in parts of New England, New Jersey’s death rate has been rising steadily. Nearly 2,700 overdose deaths have been confirmed in the first 10 months of this year, according to data collected by the state attorney general’s office. In 2017, preliminary data show that there were 2,750 overdose-related deaths.
The opioid crisis in New Jersey became the main focus of Gov. Chris Christie’s final year in office and he used his national platform as a presidential candidate to repeatedly call for reforms on treating opioid addiction and prosecuting drug abusers. President Trump also named Mr. Christie as chairman of his commission on the opioid crisis. Besides suing Purdue Pharma, the Christie administration also sued Insys Therapeutics, an Arizona-based opioid manufacturer.
But the lawsuit announced by Mr. Grewal represents a new front in New Jersey’s battle against the scourge of opioids, targeting a company that plays a key role in the state’s economy.
New Jersey has a deep and lucrative connection with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Often referred to as “The Medicine Chest of the World,” New Jersey was once home to many major pharmaceutical manufacturers, such as Pfizer, Merck and Johnson and Johnson. And while some companies have left the state, the industry still accounts for roughly 120,000 jobs, totaling $16.5 billion in annual payroll in 2016, or 7.8 percent of the state’s total wages.
The lawsuit is similar to other lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, tracing the evolution of opioids from short-dosage painkillers in the early 1990s to drugs whose effects are more long term.
“Janssen joined the wave of opioid manufacturers working to persuade health care providers and patients — including the elderly and opioid-naïve — that pain had been widely and improperly under-treated, and that opioid pain medications were the answer,” the lawsuit says.
It also points to disturbing trends in the prescription. Over the course of a year, one patient on a state health care plan received 125 prescriptions for two opioids, Nucynta and Nucynta ER — more than a 2,700-day supply. The prescriptions were written by a health care provider “who had received hundreds of visits from Janssen sales representatives.”
The mounting legal campaigns against pharmaceutical companies, Mr. Lewis said, highlights how complicit many believe they are for the crisis.
“Everybody on opioids for more than a couple of weeks is dependent, only about five to 10 percent of people develop addiction,” said Mr. Lewis. “But remember, five to 10 percent of millions and millions of people is a lot of people. So, that’s what the state attorneys general are really fighting against. They’re fighting against the fact that all of these companies put out marketing and misinformation that these drugs don’t cause addiction, don’t cause dependence, don’t lead to abuse.”
“In reality,” Mr. Lewis added. “Lots and lots of people died using the drugs as directed.”
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Grewal files suit against J&J subsidiary, alleging false marketing of opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | POLITICO PRO
By Sam Sutton
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal filed a lawsuit today against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, alleging the New Jersey-based company falsely marketed two of its opioid products.
Grewal said in a statement that Janssen minimized the risks of opioids and sought to depict two of its opioid products, Nucynta and Nucynta ER, as "safer, milder, and less addictive" than other prescription drugs. Janssen also fronted an unbranded marketing campaign that claimed opioids are rarely addictive when used as prescribed, according to Grewal's office.
Portions of the state's complaint were redacted, including allegations the company tailored marketing efforts toward elderly and "opioid-naive" patients. Those parts of the complaint were deemed confidential trade secrets by Janssen, according to Grewal.
The lawsuit was filed in state Superior Court in Mercer County.
"Janssen helped fuel a public health crisis unlike any other our state has faced," Grewal said in his statement. "The public has a right to know about Janssen's efforts to mislead healthcare providers and patients, and we will fight any effort to keep today's filing hidden from view. Janssen's conduct was illegal, and details about it should not be kept confidential."
While opioid prescriptions are believed to be falling across the state, New Jersey is on pace to lose a record 3,000 residents to opioid-related overdoses in 2018.
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Murphy's AG sues N.J. pharma giant for 'fueling' opioid crisis
Nov 13, 2018 | NJ.com
By S.P. Sullivan
State authorities on Tuesday accused a subsidiary of New Jersey pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson of using "deceptive marketing" to boost profits by playing down the risks of highly-addictive painkillers.
In a lengthy lawsuit filed in state Superior Court, New Jersey's attorney general contended Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. violated the state's Consumer Fraud Act and fueled the opioid addiction crisis.
The move marks the third time the state has accused a drugmaker of breaking the law in order to sell opioid painkillers as authorities grapple with spiraling numbers of overdose deaths.
"It is particularly disturbing that so much of this misconduct took place in our own backyard," said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, who announced the suit during a Newark press conference.
A representative for the New Brunswick-based Johnson & Johnson could not immediately be reached for comment.
"New Jersey's pharmaceutical industry is the envy of the world, with a long history of developing vital, life-saving drugs," the attorney general said. "But we cannot turn a blind eye when a New Jersey company violates the law and threatens the lives of our residents."
Authorities say the 97-page lawsuit is based on internal documents the Attorney General's Office took from the company during an investigation into its business practices going back to the early 1990s.
The allegations concern Janssen's marketing campaign two products, Nucynta and Nucynta ER. Authorities claim the company deceived patients by presenting the medicines as "safer, milder, and less addictive" than competitor painkillers.
Janssen is also accused of using an "unbranded marketing campaign" to create websites and documents designed to look independent that claimed to "debunk" myths about painkillers.
"Many studies show that opioids are rarely addictive when used properly for the management of chronic pain," one brochure claimed, according to the lawsuit.
Portions of the lawsuit were redacted because the company claimed they described confidential information. State authorities said they would ask a judge to make the entire document public.
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Opioid epidemic: New Jersey sues Johnson & Johnson subsidiary for deceptive marketing
Nov 13, 2018 | North Jersey.com
By Lindy Washburn
New Jersey has filed suit against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, alleging deceptive marketing in the sale of opioid painkillers — drugs that officials said have contributed to an overdose epidemic that has claimed more than 2,600 lives in the state this year.
The lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the third filed by the state against an opioid manufacturer and the first against a pharmaceutical company headquartered in New Jersey.
"We'll hold everyone accountable no matter who they are or where they operate," New Jersey's attorney general, Gurbir S. Grewal, said at a news conference in Newark. Johnson & Johnson was not named in the lawsuit, but Grewal did not rule out including the company if it was "aware of or involved in" the marketing practices.
Janssen marketed two products, Nucynta and Nucynta ER. for eight years, from 2010 to 2017, and sold the rights to the products in 2015 for more than $1 billion, the attorney general said.
The lawsuit alleges that the company minimized the risks of opioids in general, and tried to make its products seem safer, milder and less addictive than other prescription opioids. The company also created sham organizations and websites, hiding its involvement to promote its products, he said.
Of particular concern was the company's targeting of the elderly and people who had not used opioids before in an effort to expand its market share, the lawsuit said.
New Jersey has had 2,690 deaths from opioid overdoses this year, as of Nov. 4, according to statistics kept by the Attorney General's office. That already is 90 more deaths than in all of last year.
This is the third lawsuit the state has filed against a manufacturer of opioid pain medication. Last October, the administration of former Gov. Chris Chrstie sued Insys Therapeutics for broadly marketing its prescription opioid-fentanyl medication, Subsys, to a larger audience than its approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration allowed.
And in November, the state sued Purdue Pharma LP, the drug-making giant that produces Oxycontin.
Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, have increased more than fivefold since 1999. Overdoses involving opioids killed more than 42,000 people in 2016, and 40 percent of those deaths were from prescription opioids.
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Grewal announces N.J. is suing J&J subsidiary Janssen over opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | ROI - New Jersey
By Anjalee Khemlani
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Tuesday that the state is suing a subsidiary of one of its largest pharmaceutical companies in connection with the opioid epidemic.
The 97-page suit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, puts the state in the company of others like Kentucky and Texas, which have already sued Janssen and other opioid makers.
“Janssen helped fuel a public health crisis unlike any other our state has faced,” Grewal said in a statement.
“The public has a right to know about Janssen’s efforts to mislead health care providers and patients, and we will fight any effort to keep today’s filing hidden from view. Janssen’s conduct was illegal, and details about it should not be kept confidential.”
Grewal acknowledged the company’s impact on the state’s economy.
In a tweet, Grewal said: “One of the most troubling aspects of the allegations against Janssen Pharmaceuticals is how much of the illegal conduct took place in our own back yard. New Jersey may be the pharma capital of the world, but we refuse to turn a blind eye when a major corporation harms our residents.”
The complaint is based in part on internal company documents, which Grewal is additionally calling on Janssen to release unredacted.
“We intend to hold Janssen accountable for its deception, and to make the company pay for the public health crisis it helped to create,” Grewal said.
Calls to Janssen for comment were not immediately returned.
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AG sues J&J subsidiary for practices related to opioid products
Nov 13, 2018 | NJ BIZ
By Anthony Vecchione
The state of New Jersey has filed a five-count lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, for deceiving consumers about the dangers of two of its opioid products with high potential for abuse – Nucynta and Nucynta ER, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Tuesday.
The lawsuit is the third case brought by the AG’s office against an opioid manufacturer, and the first such case it has brought against a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey. Johnson & Johnson is headquartered in New Brunswick.
The 97-page complaint, the AG’s office said in a release, is based in part on internal company documents it obtained during a lengthy investigation into Janssen’s marketing practices. A redacted complaint has been filed with the court.
“Janssen helped fuel a public health crisis unlike any other our state has faced,” Grewal said in a statement. “The public has a right to know about Janssen’s efforts to mislead health care providers and patients, and we will fight any effort to keep today’s filing hidden from view. Janssen’s conduct was illegal and details about it should not be kept confidential.”
The suit charges violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, New Jersey False Claims Act and common-law prohibition against creation of a public nuisance. It seeks a judgment requiring Janssen “pay civil penalties, disgorge its ill-gotten gains and pay damages for false claims submitted to the State.”
In addition, the suit seeks an order requiring Janssen halt all unlawful practices under the Consumer Fraud Act, correct its misrepresentations and “abate the public nuisance that its deceptive marketing has been a substantial factor in creating.”
The suit also blames the marketing of Nucynta and Nucynta ER for “dramatically” increased health insurance costs absorbed by the state and, ultimately, the taxpayers through false claims for chronic opioid therapy.
In response to the suit, Janssen issued a statement saying its “actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible.”
“The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated,” the Janssen statement continued. “In fact, our medications have some of the lowest rates of abuse among this class of medications. Opioid abuse and addiction are serious public health issues. We are committed to being part of the ongoing dialogue and to doing our part to find ways to address this crisis.”
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NJ sues drug company Janssen, alleging it deceived the public about opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Rita Giordano
The State of New Jersey announced Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., alleging the company deceived the public about the dangers of two of its opioid products, including their potential for abuse and dependency.
The state alleges that Janssen's marketing campaign for its products Nucynta and Nucynta ER minimized the risk of opioids, promoted the products as less addictive than other opioids, and targeted the elderly and other "opioid naïve" patients to expand the company's market.
"Janssen helped fuel a public health crisis unlike any other our state has faced," said Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal. "The public has a right to know about Janssen's efforts to mislead health-care providers and patients, and we will fight any effort to keep today's filing hidden from view."
In a company statement, Janssen denied wrongdoing.
"Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible," the statement says. "The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated."
New Jersey's complaint also alleges that the company created literature and web content that were designed to appear independent and health-supportive but were actually no more than marketing fronts. The state's lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Mercer County, blames Janssen's marketing for substantially increasing health-insurance costs that were absorbed by the state and, ultimately, New Jersey taxpayers.
The suit is New Jersey's third court action against an opioid manufacturer, and the first case it has brought against a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey.
The complaint claims that Janssen, which the state says sold its license rights to the two products in question for more than $1 billion in 2015, and other opioid manufacturers managed to change the medical and public perception of the highly addictive drugs. They went from treatments for acute pain and end-of-life care to long-term treatment of chronic pain, according to the state.
Around the country, state and local governments — including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburban counties, and Camden County — have filed lawsuits against the companies that manufactured the opioid products that helped fuel a national epidemic.
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NJ Sues J & J Subsidiary Janssen Over ‘Scheme To Deceive Doctors And Patients’ About Opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | CBS New York
By Staff
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson which manufactures opioids, claiming the company fueled a public health crisis and mislead patients about the dangers of the drugs.
Grewal detailed a five-count lawsuit filed against Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The state says Janssen aggressively and deceptively marketed its prescription opioid products, knowing full-well that they carried a high risk of addiction and abuse.
“Our lawsuit details a years-long scheme designed to deceive doctors and patients about two of the company’s opioid products,” Grewal said. “As the complaint makes clear, Janssen went to great lengths to mislead the public.”
The attorney general alleges the following of Janssen:masterminded a public relations campaign to undermine accepted medical practicesused a network of sales representatives to push its misleading marketingquietly funded front organizations that peddled bogus medical theories
“It even went so far as targeting elderly nursing home and hospital patients with its misinformation,” Grewal alleged.
In a statement, Janssen said “the marketing and promotion of these products was responsible.”
“The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits,” the company continued. “The allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated.”
Tuesday’s lawsuit is the third case brought by the attorney general against an opioid manufacturer, but the first against a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey. The state is seeking reimbursements and civil penalties.
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Janssen 'Doublespeak' Fueled Opioid Crisis, NJ Suit Says
Nov 13, 2018 | Law360
By Jeff Overley
Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. fanned the flames of the opioid crisis by using an elaborate campaign of deceptive marketing, including “doublespeak” that touted the company’s opioid painkillers as unlike most opioids, New Jersey alleged in a suit filed Tuesday.
New Jersey’s 100-page complaint blamed Janssen, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, for “crushing” health care costs related to misuse of Nucynta and Nucynta ER, which contain the active ingredient tapentadol. Janssen began selling the Nucynta products in 2008 and 2011, respectively, and pushed them with marketing schemes premised on bogus statements about risks and benefits, the complaint said.
Among many improper actions, Janssen allegedly tried to make the Nucynta pain relievers seem safer and milder than other prescription opioids, such as Purdue Pharma LP’s OxyContin, by claiming that the Nucynta products were “unlike traditional opioids” and possessed “non-opioid” properties.
“This doublespeak ... masked the reality that Nucynta and Nucynta ER are not milder and are not less addictive” than other opioids categorized under Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, Tuesday’s suit said.
The suit was filed under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the New Jersey False Claims Act and the common law ban on creating public nuisances. It seeks financial relief for costs related to the state’s Medicaid program, health plans for state employees and a workers’ compensation program.
“Remediating the opioid crisis requires tremendous financial resources,” and “the burden of those costs should be shared by Janssen,” the suit said.
Janssen quickly fired back on Tuesday, saying in a statement that its marketing was “appropriate and responsible” and that the state’s allegations are “baseless and unsubstantiated.”
New Jersey has previously hit other drugmakers, including Purdue and Insys Therapeutics Inc., with similar suits over opioid marketing. Many other states have launched comparable suits of their own, and hundreds of cities and counties are battling opioid sellers — including Janssen — in multidistrict litigation centralized in Ohio federal court.
Tuesday’s complaint alleged marketing via “front groups” allegedly designed to lend “seemingly independent credibility” to Janssen’s promotional messages. The complaint also objected to specific pieces of marketing literature, such as a brochure that listed serious addiction risks as one of several “opioid myths.”
New Jersey's suit also provided examples of patients who allegedly got improper opioid prescriptions as a result of Janssen’s marketing. In one example, it said a patient with muscle pain and joint inflammation received 125 prescriptions for nearly 2,800 days worth of Nucynta product doses over the course of four years, resulting in almost $50,000 of expenses for the state.
Janssen in 2015 sold the U.S. rights to its Nucynta products for $1 billion to Depomed Inc., which is now known as Assertio Therapeutics Inc.
New Jersey is represented by Gurbir Grewal and Patricia Schiripo of the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and Betsy Miller and Victoria Nugent of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.
Counsel information for Janssen was not immediately available.
The case is Grewal et al. v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al. in the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey, Chancery Division, County of Mercer. The case number was not immediately available. -
Janssen Sued by NJ Over Opioid Sales, Marketing Practices
Nov 13, 2018 | New Jersey Law Journal
By Michael Booth
The state of New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals claiming the company used deceptive practices in the sale of two powerful opioids, Nucynta and Nucynta ER.
The complaint was filed Tuesday in Mercer County Superior Court but has not been made public, in part because Janssen contends that it contains confidential company information since it is based on internal company documents, according to a release from Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s office.
The state has asked in a motion that the complaint be made public, according to the release, which pressed Janssen to release the documents on its own.
Janssen, meanwhile, is contending that it acted appropriately in marketing the products, which were launched in 2011.
“Janssen helped fuel a public health crisis unlike any other our state has faced,” Grewal said in a statement. “The public has a right to know about Janssen’s efforts to mislead healthcare providers and patients, and we will fight any effort to keep today’s filing hidden from view. Janssen’s conduct was illegal, and details about it should not be kept confidential.”
Grewal said this is the first such case brought by the state against a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey.
The lawsuit charges violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the New Jersey False Claims Act, and the common-law prohibition against creation of a public nuisance.
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief and alleges that Janssen’s marketing campaign minimized the addictive risks of the drugs and claimed they were less addictive than other opioids.
The lawsuit also claims Janssen’s campaign was designed to push long-term opioid use, asserting that “[M]any studies show that opioids are rarely addictive when used properly for the management of chronic pain.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the company targeted the elderly and nonopioid users.
The complaint notes that New Jersey bears the cost of prescription drug coverage for low- and moderate-income residents through its Medicaid programs; for active and retired state employees through two different privately administered health plans; and for state employees injured on the job, via workers’ compensation benefits. The office claims the state spent an estimated $12.5 million on claims for Nucynta or Nucynta ER between 2010 and 2017.
The complaint said Janssen, along with other opioid manufacturers, “successfully changed the overall medical and public perception of opioids to something not solely for treatment of acute pain and end-of-life care, but also for long-term treatment of chronic pain conditions.”
Janssen sold its U.S. license rights for Nucynta and Nucynta ER to Depomed, now known as Assertio Therapeutics Inc., for a reported $1.05 billion in 2015.
The state has retained Cohen Milstein for assistance, the statement said.
Janssen issued a statement after the lawsuit was filed.
“Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible. The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated,” the company said. “In fact, since 2008, our opioid medications have accounted for less than one percent of the U.S. market for this class of medications (including generics).
“Opioid abuse and addiction are serious public health issues. We are committed to being part of the ongoing dialogue and to doing our part to find ways to address this crisis.”
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Opioid epidemic: New Jersey sues Johnson & Johnson subsidiary over deceptive marketing (UPDATED)
Nov 13, 2018 | North Jersey Record
By Lindy Washburn
New Jersey targeted one of the state's most important industries Tuesday, filing suit against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson for its role in fueling an accelerating opioid crisis that has claimed more than 2,600 lives in the state this year.
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced a five-count lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. for a multi-year "scheme designed to deceive doctors and patients about two of the company’s opioid products."
The company's representatives blanketed the state with personal visits to health care providers while "knowing full well that its products carried high risk for addiction and abuse," Grewal said.
The lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals is the third filed by the state against an opioid manufacturer and the first against a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey.
Janssen, with its main offices in Raritan Township in Hunterdon County, employs 40,000 people worldwide. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Most disturbing "is how much of the illegal conduct took place in our own backyard," Grewal said at a Newark news conference. "New Jersey's pharmaceutical industry may be the envy of the world, but we cannot turn a blind eye when a major corporation like Janssen violates our laws and threatens the lives of our residents."
Johnson & Johnson, the parent company, was not named in the lawsuit, but Grewal did not rule out including the company if it was found to be "aware of and involved in" the marketing campaign.
"We'll hold everyone accountable no matter who they are or where they operate," he said.
The suit alleges that Janssen contributed to a cultural shift among doctors and patients who came to regard opioid painkillers as appropriate for long-term use in the treatment of chronic pain, instead of as a treatment for acute pain and end-of-life care.
Janssen began marketing Nucynta in 2008 and and Nucynta ER in 2011, claiming that they were less addictive and safer than other prescription opioids, the attorney general said. It sold its U.S. rights to the drugs in 2015 for more than $1 billion.
Of particular concern was the company's focus on expanding its market share by targeting the elderly and people who had not used opioids before, the lawsuit said.
It did this through sham organizations like the "Let's Talk Pain" Coalition and websites such as "PrescribeResponsibly.com" that conceal the company's role, the lawsuit claimed. Its pamphlets falsely debunked so-called opioid myths by saying "many studies show that opioids are rarely addictive when properly used for the management of chronic pain."
These claims had no scientific evidence to back them up, said Paul R. Rodriguez, acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs.
Four out of five heroin addicts started with prescription painkillers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
New Jersey has had 2,690 deaths from opioid overdoses this year, as of Nov. 4, according to statistics kept by the Attorney General's Office. That already is 90 more deaths than in all of last year.
The state spent an estimated $12.5 million on claims for the two drugs submitted to the state’s employee insurance plans between 2010 and 2017, and an additional $800,000 on such claims to Medicaid and the state’s workers’ compensation program, the lawsuit said.
In one case highlighted, the state spent $48,000 on Janssen’s products for a single member of the state Employee Health Plan who received 125 prescriptions for Nucynta and Nucynta ER — a more than 2,700-day supply — during a one-year period. The patient’s health care provider had received hundreds of visits from a Janssen sales rep, the complaint said.
The state seeks payment to abate the problem Janssen’s deceptive marketing practice created, damages for false claims, civil penalties and a share of Janssen’s “ill-gotten gains.”
A redacted copy of the lawsuit was submitted for filing in state Superior Court in Mercer County on Tuesday. The company has claimed that the internal memos cited in the lawsuit would reveal proprietary information and trade secrets, but Grewal said he was calling upon them to make the unredacted version available to the public.
This is the third lawsuit the state has filed against a manufacturer of opioid pain medication. Last October, the administration of former Gov. Chris Christie sued Insys Therapeutics for broadly marketing its prescription opioid-fentanyl medication, Subsys, to a larger audience than its approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration allowed.
And in November, the state sued Purdue Pharma LP, the drug-making giant that produces Oxycontin.
Twelve other states have sued Janssen, the attorney general said.
Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, have increased more than fivefold since 1999. Overdoses involving opioids killed more than 42,000 people in 2016, and 40 percent of those deaths were from prescription opioids.
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State sues Johnson & Johnson subsidiary for deceptively marketing opioids
Nov 13, 2018 | NJTV News
By Michael Aron
The state Attorney General’s Office has sued two opioid manufacturers this year, but never one based in New Jersey. That changed Tuesday when Attorney General Gurbir Grewal filed a 97-page complaint against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Raritan-based subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
“We allege that for years Janssen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, aggressively and deceptively marketed its prescription opioid products to the people of New Jersey, knowing full well that its products carried a high risk for addiction and for abuse,” Grewal said.
Grewal said over an eight year period Janssen marketed two pain relievers — Nucynta and Nucynta ER, or extended release — as safer than other opioids like OxyContin and fentanyl.
He said the company paid doctors to give speeches and testimonials for the drug’s relative safety, when in fact the company knew that its product was just as addictive as other opioid pain killers. He issued a warning.
“Our message is clear, if you violate our laws, if you illegally push opioids for profit, we will hold you accountable, no matter who you are and no matter where you operate,” he said.
The complaint is civil, not criminal. The state is seeking civil penalties, restitution and damages.
Janssen sold its rights to Nucynta in 2015 for $1 billion, so the action is aimed at punishing the company for past behavior.
According to the lawsuit, in one of Janssen’s marketing materials the company wrote, “Many studies show that opioids are rarely addictive when used properly for the management of chronic pain.”
“Janssen’s representatives promoted Nucynta and Nucynta ER as safer, milder, and less addictive than competitor opioids like Oxycontin, but Janssen’s statements were unsupported and misleading,” said Paul Rodriguez, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
“They funded bogus research. They pushed bogus theories like pseudo-addiction, things that have been debunked. They positioned Nuynta and Nucynta ER as a safer alternative to other, more powerful opioid drugs,” Grewal said.
Janssen did not respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday morning in Mercer County. Company records are included in the complaint but are redacted in places. Grewal is asking the judge and the company to un-redact those portions for the sake of transparency.
Before today, Grewal’s predecessor Chris Porrino had filed lawsuits against Insys Therapeutics and Purdue Pharma.
The parent company Johnson & Johnson was not named in the suit, but Grewal said if it turns out they were part of the fraud he’ll go after them too.
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Johnson & Johnson subsidiary sued for deceiving public
Nov 13, 2018 | 69 News (WFMZ)
By Emma Wright
New Jersey's attorney general Grubir Grewal is suing a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
Grewal says Janssen Pharmaceuticals used deceptive marketing tactics and fake science to push the sale of opioid painkillers to treat chronic pain in elderly people in an attempt increase sales. Janssen Pharmaceuticals has offices in Somerset County.
In a lawsuit, the AG's office alleges Janssen marketed two painkillers, Nucynta and Nucynta ER, for eight years before selling the product for a billion dollars in 2015.
"We're entitled to our cost of treating this epidemic. We're entitled to the cost of the profits they earned from these products,” Grubir said.
The lawsuit says the company minimized the addictive risks of opioids and paid doctors to give speeches touting the products' benefits. Janssen is the third pharmaceutical company New Jersey has sued.
The attorney general calls opioid addiction an unprecedented crisis in the state and says nearly 3,000 people have died from overdoses this year.
In a statement sent to 69 News Janssen said in part, "Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible. The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated."
The New Jersey attorney general said there are a dozen pending lawsuits against Janssen filed in other states.
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NJ SAYS DRUG COMPANY LIED ABOUT ITS OPIOIDS BEING SAFER
Nov 13, 2018 | New Jersey 101.5
By David Matthau
The state of New Jersey has filed a five-count lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, alleging it lied about 2 of its opioid painkillers to increase its bottom line.
The lawsuit targets statements the company made about Nucynta and Nucynta ER. According to State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, Janssen deliberately misled the public about the dangers associated with the drugs, and helped to fuel what has become the worst public health crisis in New Jersey history.
By the end of this year, the opioid abuse overdose death rate in the Garden State is expected to top 3,000.
The lawsuit alleges Janssen “aggressively and deceptively marketed its prescription opioid products to the people of New Jersey, knowing full well it’s products carried a high risk for addiction and for abuse," Grewal said.
“Our lawsuit details a years-long scheme designed to deceive doctors and patients about two of the company’s opioid products.”
He said the company set up what amounted to bogus websites and paid doctors to make speeches in support of the opioid medications.
“We allege that Janssen masterminded a public relations campaign to undermine accepted medical practices and used a network of sales representatives to push its misleading marketing," Grewal said.
He said the suit alleges Janssen “quietly funded front organizations that peddled its bogus medical theories.”
Paul Rodriguez, the director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, said the company routinely portrayed Nucynta and Nucynta ER as being unlike traditional opioids, claiming they were safer and less addictive than other opioids, “but Janssen’s statements were unsupported and misleading. There were no valid clinical studies to prove their claims.”
He said in reality “Nucynta and Nucynta ER are not milder and are not less addictive. They are narcotic drugs that have a high potential for abuse.”
Grewal said Janssen even went so far as to target elderly nursing home and hospital patients with its misinformation.
The 97-page complaint, filed in Mercer County Superior Court, charges multiple violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the New Jersey False Claims Act and the common-law prohibition against the creation of a public nuisance.
The suit asks for an unspecified amount of money in civil penalties, and damages for false claims.
Additionally the suit seeks to require that the company halts all unlawful practices under the Consumer Fraud Act, correct its misrepresentations, and “abate the public nuisance that its deceptive marketing has been a substantial factor in creating.”
Grewal added many internal company documents have not been made public, but the State is asking the court to allow them to published.
He said the company earned huge amounts of money on its opioid medications, then the company “cashed in one last time in 2015 when it sold the rights to Nucynta and Nucynta ER, collecting more than a billion dollars in the process.”
He pointed out this is the third lawsuit his office has brought against a pharmaceutical company, and said the message being sent it clear.
“If you violate our laws, if you illegally push opioids for profit, we will hold you accountable, no matter who you are, and no matter where you operate," Grewal said. “We’ll hold you accountable whether you’re breaking the law on a street corner, in an exam room or in a corner office.”
When asked to comment on the lawsuit and its damaging allegations, a spokesperson for Janssen Pharmaceuticals issued a statement that says:
Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible. The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated. In fact, since 2008, our opioid medications have accounted for less than one percent of the U.S. market for this class of medications (including generics).
"Opioid abuse and addiction are serious public health issues. We are committed to being part of the ongoing dialogue and to doing our part to find ways to address this crisis."
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New Jersey attorney general sues drug company for 'deceiving' customers on opioid dangers
Nov 13, 2018 | WABC
By Anthony Johnson
The State of New Jersey is taking on the opioid crisis by suing a pharmaceutical company.
The State Attorney General says Janssen Pharmaceuticals didn't disclose how addictive some of their drugs could be.
The New Jersey-based company is facing a host of civil penalties for allegedly using deceptive practices to push drugs that are as dangerous as OxyContin and Fentanyl.
The five-count lawsuit accuses the company of deceiving customers, especially seniors, about two of its opioid products that can be highly addictive.
Nucynta and Nucynta ER were promoted as being safer and less addictive than other opioid-based relief medications. State officials say that is inaccurate and the medications have a high potential for abuse.
The state filed a 97-page complaint in superior court claiming in part that Janssen should repay the state for money low and moderate income residents used through Medicaid programs to buy the drugs.
The AG says the actions by the drug company helped to fuel the opioid crisis in the state which has claimed more than 3,000 lives this year.
The company denies the allegations and released the following statement:
Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible. The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated. In fact, our medications have some of the lowest rates of abuse among this class of medications.
Opioid abuse and addiction are serious public health issues. We are committed to being part of the ongoing dialogue and to doing our part to find ways to address this crisis. -
Grewal Announces Suit Against NJ Based Opioid Manufacturer
Nov 13, 2018 | WGBO
By Ang Santos
The New Jersey Attorney General's office is suing Janssen Pharmaceuticals, alleging the company deceived consumers about the dangers of its opioid painkillers. It’s the first such case brought by the Office against a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey.
“We allege that Janssen masterminded a public relations campaign to undermine accepted medical practices. It used a network of sales representatives to push it’s misleading marketing. It quietly funded front organizations that peddled it’s bogus theories,” said NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
Janssen sold the rights to its opioid drugs Nucynta and Nucynta ER in 2015, but Grewal says the complaint stems from a lengthy investigation into the company’s marketing practices.
“Including evidence found in internal company documents. Documents that were never previously made public. Court rules required us to black out this information.”
Grewal is calling on the company to allow the public access to the full, unredacted documents.
“We’re seeking a judgement requiring Janssen to pay the public for a crisis it helped to cause. And we are demanding that the company pay civil penalties and disgorge it’s ill-gotten gains," Grewal said.
In a written statement, Janssen Pharmaceuticals addresses opioids as a serious public health issue and says the state’s claims are baseless.
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NJ attorney general sues opioid company over marketing
Nov 13, 2018 | News 12 New Jersey
By Staff
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced that the state is suing pharmaceutical company Janssen due to claims that the company misled its customers when it to comes to opioids.
The lawsuit is about the drugs Nucynta and Nucynta ER. Grewal claims that the company, which is owned by Johnson and Johnson, engaged in a long list of deceptive practices to increase sales of the drugs. The attorney general says that the company committed fraud in its marketing of the two opioid drugs.
“They funded bogus research. They pushed bogus theories like pseudo-addiction, things that have been debunked. They position Nucynta and Nucynta ER as a safer alternative to other, more powerful opioid drugs…when in fact they were the same types of opioid drugs,” Grewal said.
Janssen sold the rights to both drugs in 2015 for $1 billion. The attorney general is looking to get back some of that money calling it “ill-gotten gains.”
News 12 New Jersey reached out to Janssen for comment, but did not hear back.
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Attorney General Claims Drugmaker Increased Comp, Health Care Costs
Nov 14, 2018 | Workcompcentral
By Staff
A lawsuit filed by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal against Janssen Pharmaceuticals claims the drugmaker deceptively marketed its opioid products, driving up the cost of health insurance and workers’ compensation coverage for state employers.
A.G. Gurbir S. Grewal Grewal announced the lawsuit against the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Tuesday. He claimed that Janssen falsely claimed that its Nucynta and Nucynta ER products were safer, milder and less addictive than other opioids, and minimized the risks of opioids generally. The suit demanded...
The remainder of this article is under paywall at: https://www.workcompcentral.com/news/article/id/f57038676991d0184eb3f0d85818cf38a4f99dd1
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STATE SUES J&J SUBSIDIARY ALLEGING IMPROPER OPIOID MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION
Nov 14, 2018 | STATE SUES J&J SUBSIDIARY ALLEGING IMPROPER OPIOID MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION
By Lilo H. Stainton
For six years, New Jersey-based Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. lobbied doctors and patients — particularly seniors — to choose its opioid-based medications based on claims that the drugs were safer than other brands, appropriate for treating a wide range of chronic pain, and free of the risks associated with over-the-counter options.
But a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the state Attorney General alleges that Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, deceived prescribers and the public about the nature of these drugs, downplayed the dangers involved, and put communities at risk by exacerbating the Garden State’s growing opioid epidemic.
The suit also claims the company deliberately sought to expand the opioid market by targeting elderly individuals, without proper concern for their safety, in an effort to increase its bottom line.
In civil charges submitted to Superior Court in Mercer County, the suit claims Janssenviolated the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, the False Claims Act, and the common-law prohibition against creating a public nuisance with misleading marketing of the drugs Nucynta and Nucynta ER. While the statute of limitations has expired on criminal charges, officials said they continue to explore how to hold this company, and others, accountable.‘…ill-gotten gains’
New Jersey is seeking unspecified penalties and damages and has called for the company to “disgorge its ill-gotten gains,” or profits from the drugs, which were sold between 2009 and 2015, when Janssen sold the rights to another pharmaceutical company for $1.05 billion. The state has spent more than $13 million on claims for these medications alone since then, for public employees and Medicaid patients, officials said.
“Janssen helped fuel a public health crisis unlike any other our state has faced,” Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said, noting that New Jersey is on track to lose some 3,000 residents to drug-related deaths this year.
“It is particularly disturbing that so much of this misconduct took place in our own backyard,” Grewal continued, in a state considered the home of the pharmaceutical industry and the source of so many life-saving medical treatments.
“But we cannot turn a blind eye when a New Jersey company violates the law and threatens the lives of our residents. We intend to hold Janssen accountable for its deception, and to make the company pay for the public health crisis it helped to create,” he said.
Even international drug giant Johnson & Johnson, one of the first names in New Jersey pharmaceuticals, is not beyond reproach, Grewal noted. The 132-year-old company, based in New Brunswick, was ranked 37th on the Forbes 500 list of the nation’s largest companies this year and employs more than 130,000 people worldwide; Janssen, based in Raritan, has 35,000 workers in sites around the globe.‘Baseless and unsubstantiated’
In a response to the civil suit, Janssen said its practices were appropriate and dismissed the state’s charges. It also claimed its medications have some of the lowest rates of abuse for these types of drugs.
“Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible. The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated,” the company said. “Opioid abuse and addiction are serious public health issues. We are committed to being part of the ongoing dialogue and to doing our part to find ways to address this crisis.”
While opioid prescriptions are now declining, more than 2,000 New Jersey residents died of drug-related deaths in 2016, according to state data, including some 1,400 that involved opioids. Grewal said, based on population, that death rate is 20 percent higher than the national average and it has increased more than 300 percent since 1999. Tens of thousands of other New Jerseyans seek treatment annually, and scores more don’t get the help they need.High cost of opioid epidemic
The cost of the opioid epidemic is significant in many ways, said Grewal, who has worked with others in the administration of Gov. Phil Murphy to find new ways to address the crisis, including expanding a partnership between addiction providers and law enforcement to help nonviolent drug offenders connect with treatment. In addition to the deaths, there is the toll of lost work hours and missed productivity among those who became addicted, and the price of the claims themselves.
New Jersey spent $183 million on all opioid-related health and workers’ compensation claims for public workers since 2010, and more than $106 million for opioid prescriptions for Medicaid members in the state’s largest managed care plan; more than $13 million of this was for Nucynta products, according to the lawsuit.
State officials have already filed or joined multi-state lawsuits against a number of opioid-making pharmaceutical companies — including Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, a popular opioid that has triggered a backlash nationwide — but this is the first time they have targeted a New Jersey-based drug maker.
While Nucynta isn’t used as widely as some other brands, Grewal said the state should not ignore the damage done by Janssen in pushing these pills. Janssen “took a page right out of the Purdue playbook,” he said.Heavily redacted
The 97-page lawsuit — based on internal company documents and an ongoing investigation — details the state’s allegations, but reveals little about Janssen’s specific efforts, given the heavy redaction demanded by the company. Heavy black lines appear over sections of the document that explain what kind of money, staff and other resources Janssen committed to marketing these drugs, the company’s goals in this promotion, and its awareness of the dangers involved.
The state is requesting the court lift these restrictions and is asking Janssen not to oppose this release. “The public has a right to know about Janssen’s efforts to mislead healthcare providers and patients, and we will fight any effort to keep today’s filing hidden from view. Janssen’s conduct was illegal, and details about it should not be kept confidential,” Grewal said.
According to the lawsuit, Janssen relied heavily on limited pre-clinical data on the drugs to improperly claim they behaved differently from other opioids, a fact that was not proven in the research. But promotional materials relied on these initial findings to claim Nucynta was safer, milder and less addictive than similar products, and, as such, less likely to be diverted for illegal use.
“There were no valid clinical studies to prove their claims,” said Paul R. Rodriguez, the acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, which is part of the Attorney General’s Office. The company also promoted debunked theories, like “pseudo-addiction,” in an effort to increase prescribing, he said.Nucynta and Nucynta ER
Sales staff from Janssen told doctors Nucynta (approved in 2008) and Nucynta ER, or extended-release (which followed in 2011), were more appropriate for patients with long-term pain than other opioids, the lawsuit states. Nucynta could serve as a safe next step from over-the-counter medicines, the sales staff said, and the company exaggerated the dangers involved with painkillers like aspirin or ibuprofen, which are not strictly controlled like opioids, the suit maintains.
Janssen also funded studies to emphasize the drug’s safety and promotional speeches by healthcare professionals, and paid doctors in New Jersey and elsewhere to encourage prescription of Nucynta; a West Orange physician collected $16,000 over two years, the suit alleges. Sales staffers were paid bonuses of up to $20,000 a quarter for their role in expanding its use.
It also relied on “unbranded” websites and other outreach in which the drugs, and opioid use in general, were promoted through apparently unrelated organizations, according to the filing. One site, PrescribeResponsibly.com — which is still active — targets doctors, including those treating older adults, while the “Let’s Talk Pain” coalition and its website sought to diminish concerns about opioids among the public.
Grewal and Rodriguez lamented how the company specifically targeted elderly residents, a group that is particularly vulnerable to the side effects of opioids — and potentially fatal related risks, like falls — and less likely to understand the dangers involved, according to the lawsuit. “Janssen’s decision to target elderly and opioid-naive patients reflects a business strategy that placed too little value on the wellbeing and safety of consumers,” the claim states.
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New Jersey Sues Janssen Pharmaceuticals Over Two Opioid Drugs
Nov 14, 2018 | Biospace
By Alex Keown
The state of New Jersey is taking aim at a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson over opioids. State officials filed a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceutical claiming the company minimized the risk of addiction as it marketed the pain treatments.
With the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, New Jersey joins a long line of government bodies that have brought allegations against opioid manufacturers and distributors as the nation grapples with a crisis of addiction to the medication. According to The New York Times, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Janssen minimized the risks of opioid addiction and targeted older patients in its sales efforts. Additionally, Grewal said Janssen’s marketing efforts include a campaign to “embed its deceptions about the viability of long-term opioid use in the minds of doctors and patients,” according to the Times.
In a statement from Grewal’s office, the attorney general filed a five-count lawsuit against Janssen regarding two opioid products, Nucynta and Nucynta ER, which the lawsuit says has a high potential for abuse. This lawsuit marks the first case brought by the state against a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey.
In an announcement, Grewal said Janssen “helped fuel a public health crisis unlike any other our state has faced.” He added that the public has a right to know about Janssen’s “efforts to mislead healthcare providers and patients.” Grewal said Janssen’s conduct in marketing the opioid medications was illegal and his office will fight to ensure that the information contained within the lawsuit remains open for the public to seek.
The lawsuit alleges that Janssen attempted to market its opioid products as safer and less addictive the competing opioids. As part of its marketing practices, the lawsuit alleges that Janssen used an unbranded marketing campaign to foment the idea that the opioid medications were not as addictive as suggested. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Janssen promoted a “bogus clinical theory” called pseudoaddiction that suggest signs of opioid addiction are “actually symptoms of having been under-treated for pain, and that the problem can be solved by simply increasing the patient’s opioid dosage.”
The deceptive marketing practices, the lawsuit says, increased health insurance costs that were absorbed by the state. Between 2010 and 2017, the complaint notes, the state spent an estimated $12.5 million on more than 41,000 claims for Nucynta or Nucynta ER submitted to its employee health plans. The state also claims that it paid out more than $800,000 to cover drug claims submitted to Medicaid.
“New Jersey’s pharmaceutical industry is the envy of the world, with a long history of developing vital, life-saving drugs. But we cannot turn a blind eye when a New Jersey company violates the law and threatens the lives of our residents. We intend to hold Janssen accountable for its deception, and to make the company pay for the public health crisis it helped to create,” Grewal said.
The 97-page complaint charges Janssen with violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the New Jersey False Claims Act, and the common-law prohibition against creation of a public nuisance. The complaint is seeking a judgment that will require the pharma company to pay civil penalties, pay damages for “false claims submitted to the state” and “disgorge its ill-gotten gains.” Under the New Jersey False Claims Act, Janssen is liable for three times the state’s damages, according to the attorney general’s office.
Earlier this year BioSpace highlighted a number of the lawsuits that have been filed against the opioid-makers. The arguments cited in the lawsuits typically say that the companies engaged in deceptive marketing practices that contributed to high addiction rates. Also, the lawsuits argue that the companies downplayed concerns over abuse, as well as allegations of complicity in the large amounts of opioids delivered to small-town pharmacies.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 116 Americans die dailyfrom opioid overdoses.
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Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WABC (Radio)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/7e1b1e36-4ad4-4cf9-b820-fbb7342bf83c?token=8a534e7c-38e3-45e2-82a7-bc7a84c30737
Rough Transcript: happening right now in new jersey attorney general ger beard grave all is announcing a lawsuit against janssen pharmaceuticals a hoe only owned subsidiary of johnson and johnson lawsuit claims the company fueled the opioid crisis in new jersey
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Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WMBC
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Rough Transcript: Welcome to wmbc news tonight.i'm k.c. lopez. a bs pkg state action ag opioidááá we begin tonight with a first of its kind lawsuit here in new jersey. attorneygeneral announced a lawsuit filed against a pharmaceutical company, accusing it of misleading patients about the state of new jersey is suing a pharmaceutical company for allegedly contributing to the opioid epidemic. attorney general gurbir grewal announced today that the state has filed a five count lawsuit against janssen pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of johnson & johnson. the 97 page complaint, based in part on internal company documents, alleges janssen participated in deception when marketing their opioid products, nucynta and nucynta er. attorney general grewal alleges janssen attempted to differentiate its own opioids from competitors' products by saying nycynta and nucynta er were safer, milder and less addictive. we allege that janssen masterminded aublic relations campaign to undermine accepted medical practices. it used a network of sales representatives to push its misleading marketing. it quietly funded front organizations that peddled its bogus medical theories and it even went so far as targeting elderly nursing home and hospital patients with its misinformation. janssen launched nucynta in late 2008 and nucynta er in 2011. the complaint alleged janssen sought, quote "t capitalize on and perpetuate ... deceptions about prescripti opioids, including that the benefits of opioids for long-term use for moderate pain conditions significantly outweighed the risks" end quote janssen sold its u.s. license rights for nucynta and nucynta er for a reported 1.05 billion dollars in 2015. we're seeking a judgment requiring janssen to pay the public for a crisis it helped to cause and we are demanding that the company pay civil penalties and disgorge its ill-gotten gains. today's announcement comes at a time when new jersey is on pace for more than three thousand opioid related deaths this year. if you violate our laws, if you illegally push opioids for profit we will hold you accountable no matter who you are and no matter where you operate. we'll hold you accountable whether you' the law on a street corner, in an exam room or in the corner office. janssen is the third pharmaceutical company the attorney general's office has filed suit against. janssen did not have an immediate response to today's court filing.
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Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WCBS (CBS)
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Rough Transcript: new jersey attorney filed a subsidiary deal. >> fuelling a public health crisis and misleading patients about the dangers of the drugs. cbs 2 's dick brenan has more. >> new jersey attorney general. januaryson a subsidiary of johnson and johnson the state says janson deceptively marketed its prescription opioid products knowing full well they carried a high risk for addiction and abuse. >> a year's long scheme designed to deceive doctors and patients about two of the company's opioid products. nusenta and nusenta er. >> janson wnt to great lengths in its efforts to mislead the public. >> janson master minded a public campaign. a medical practice that it used a network of sales representatives to push its misleading marketed and pedalled bogus medical theories. >> and it even went so far as targeting nursing home and elderly patients with its misinformation. >> the marketing and pro motion of these products was responsible. they say the labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits and that the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated. >> now today's lawsuit is the third case brought by the attorney general against an opioid manufacturer. but the first against a pharmaceutical company based in new jersey. the state is seeking reimbursement and civil penalties from janson.
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Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNBC (NBC)
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Rough Transcript: there's a battle over opioids, a company in new jersey being investigated for marketing and sales of one specific drug. some say the company's practices were deceptive. news 4's brian thompson brings us all sides. >> reporter: the battle over opioids targeting a home state company, jansen pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of johnson & johnson. >> they pushed bogus theories, things that are did he bunked. >> they had sales and marketing deception. this online explanation noting that it can cause death when taken in high doses. at this news conference, attorney general noting one patient received more than 7.5 years worth of pills over the course of just one year. >> jansen's focus was always -- >> paul rodriguez, jansen's statement this afternoon that their marketing and promotion was appropriate and responsible, then calling the allegations baseless and unsubstantiated and claiming their medications have some of the lowest rates of abuse among opioids. newark filed a lawsuit against raritan-based jansen. gray wall says more could be coming from the state. >> our investigations are ongoing into different manufacturers. >> the state does lock away street drug dealers and doctors who overprescribe. when asked why not big pharma execs. he cited the statute of limitations and in other states there have been criminal prosecutions of those executives.
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NJTV News With Mary Alice Williams at 5PM
Nov 13, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNET (PBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/97aef3bc-4688-4462-b0b0-edc9930212e4?token=8a534e7c-38e3-45e2-82a7-bc7a84c30737
Rough Transcript: >>> hello. thank you for joining us. we start with a lawsuit that strikes at the heart of big pharma. the state is suing eight johnson & johnson simcity area for allegedly using deception to push a powerful opioid on the public, including the elderly, fueling the drug addiction crisis. >> reporter: the state attorney general's office has sued two opioid manufacturers this year but never one based in new jersey. that changed today when the ag filed a 97 page complaint against a pharmaceutical company, a subsidiary of johnson & johnson. >> for years, janssen aggressively and deceptively marketed its prescription opioid products to the people of new jersey. they knew full well that its products carried a high risk for addiction and abuse.>> reporter: he said over an eight- year period, they marketed two pain refills -- relievers as safer than other opioids like oxycontin and fentanyl. he said the company paid doctors to give speeches and testimonials for the drugs relative safety when in fact the company knew that its product was just as addictive as other opioid painkillers. he issued a warning -- >> imac message is clear. if you violate our laws and illegally push opioids for profit, we will hold you accountable, no matter who you are and no matter where you operate. >> reporter: the complaint is civil not clinical -- criminal. that state is seeking restitution and damages. janssen sold its rights to the drug company in 2015 for $1 billion so the action is aimed at punishing the company for past behavior. in one of its marketing materials, according to the lawsuit, janssen wrote that many studies show that opioids are really addictive -- rarely addictive when used properly. >> reporter: janssen's representatives promoted the drugs as safer, milder, and less addictive can -- then competitor opioids. but janssen's statements were unsupportive and misleading. >> they funded bogus research. they pushed bogus theories like pseudo-addiction. they positioned these drugs as a safer alternative to other more powerful opioid drugs. >> reporter: janssen did not respond to a request for comment. the lawsuit was filed this morning. company records are included in the complaint but are redacted in places. the ag is asking the judge and the company to unredacted those portions for the sake of transparency. before today, the ag's and assessor had filed lawsuits against other drug companies.>> reporter: -- >> the parent company, johnson and johnson, was not named in the lawsuit. but the ag says if he learns they were part of the fraud, he will go after them to.>>>
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Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By FIOS1NJ (FIOS 1)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/6ff47760-3c7a-4ba4-b7e0-e3ab5a22140b?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: yesterday-- state attorny general grubir grewal announced a lawsuit against janssen pharmaceutica ls in raritan.it involves the drugs nucynta and nucynta- e-r the lawsuit claims the company deceived patents by minimizing the risk of opiods in general -- and attempting to make its opiods appear different from others-- by promoting them as safer, milder and less addictive. gurbir grewal new jersey attorney general "we allege that fo years janssen pharmaceuticals inc., a subsidiary of johnson & johnson, aggressively and deceptively marketed it's prescription opioid products to the people of nj knowing full well that its products carried a high risk for addiction and abuse." the complaint asks that janssen pay civil penalties, repay its ill- gotten gains, and pay damages for false claims submitted to the state.janssen did sell the drugs in question back in 2015 for a billion dollars but the attorneygeneral says they still have to be held accountable for the damage they caused.
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Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WPIX (CW)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/04797104-c355-4e3e-9458-d7ce185ee8dd?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: new jersey is taking legal action against a subsidiary of johnson johnson the company accused of contravening contributing to the opioid epidemics state attorney general gerber grew all has announced a lawsuit now against jansen pharmaceuticals the lawsuitclaims the company ran a sophisticated campaign to deceive the about the dangers of opioids investigators say that led to the overprescription of painkillers new jersey now seeking financial damages that will go towards addiction prevention and treatment
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Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNYW (Fox)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/4c085bd6-40fa-4f29-bc2b-fff7ccd444ca?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: meanwhile, new jersey's attorney general is suing opioid drug maker geraldo said janssen pharmaceuticals marketed its prescription opioid products destructively for big profits. calling them safer and less addictive. he's accused of funding fake studies about the drugs. the attorney general wants janssen to stop what he caused donna calls deceptive marketing and pay military penalties.e sold the rights to the drugs ã ãit's not commented get on the lawsuit.
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Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By N12NJ (News 12)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/6f0bd158-1821-4b8a-a4ea-7350fd40c20f?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: the state attorney general has filed a lawsuit against janssen, a pharmaceutical manufacturer owned by johnson and johnson. the a-g claims janssen committed fraud in its marketing of two opioids. he says they engaged in deceptive practices to increase sales of the drugs. janssen sold the rights to both drugs in 2015 for one billion dollars. the ag is looking to get back some of that money. "they funded bogus resaarch they pushed bogus theories like psuedo addiction, things that have been debunked. they position nucynta and nucynta er as a safer alternative to other more powerful opioid drugs as the director mentioned when in fact they were the same types of opioid drugs." news 12 new jersey reached out to janssen for a comment on the lawsuit but have not yet heard back.
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Nov 14, 2018 | Philadelphia, PA
By WTXF (Fox)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/efc3c534-6afc-4f42-96f4-753c84a1ad0c?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: new jersey attorney general is suing the johnson & johnson subsidiary. >> once they release the information and pay damages in the company's part of the fuming this public health crisis.
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Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WCBS-AM (CBS Radio)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/0a9f052b-8eb4-4120-98cc-5087332074c0?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: johnson and johnson subsidiary in new jersey is being sued by new jersey for a leisurely deceiving patients about the safety of pain killers and how addictive they are here sean adams according to new jersey's attorney general the seeds of the o. p. o. it epidemic were planted in part right in new jersey's own backyard the state has filed a lengthy lawsuit against johnson and johnsonsubsidiary jansen pharmaceuticals and raton alleging deceptive marketing in pushing a couple of its hope your a pain medications attorney general ger beer great wall they funded bogus research they push bogus theories like pseudo addiction things that have been the bomb they said %hesitation that they position dissent and dissent that you are as a safer alternative tell they're more %hesitation you know powerful okura drugs as the director mentioned when in fact they were the same types of %hesitation puree drugs jansen defends its marketing practices and refutes the allegations this is the third such lawsuit filed by new jersey as it attempts to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for the addiction crisis
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Nov 14, 2018 | Philadelphia, PA
By WHYY (NPR)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/41058e67-6755-4fc5-8375-0c9dc7ddc7d4?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: new jersey's attorney general says the state is filing a lawsuit against jansen pharmaceuticals for allegedly deceiving consumers about the dangers of two opie %hesitation a products ones marketed by its subsidiary johnson and johnson w. h. i. lies and santos reports attorney general curb your great wall says jensen violated the new jersey consumer fraud act the state false claims act and the common law prohibition against creates he should have a public nuisance in the way marketed rubio introduce into and houston t. e. r. were seeking a judgment requiring jansen to pay the public for a crisis it helped to costs we are demanding that the company pays civil penalties and disgorging it's ill gotten gains in a written statement jets and pharmaceutical says the state's claims are unsubstantiated and the company's medications have some of the lowest rates of abuse among pope your it's the farm suitable company sold the rights to new
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Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WINSAM (WINS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/1fde134d-078f-450b-8fa1-37e76249526f?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: new jersey state attorney general is going after one of the state's biggest employers johnson and johnson agee ger beer gray wong filing a ninety seven page complaining as j. and j. subsidiary jansen pharmaceuticals accusing it of deceiving consumers and doctors are lawsuit details a years long scheme designed to deceive doctors and patients about two of the company's %hesitation good products the center innocent he are the agee says jansen specifically targeted the elderly and the deal p. o. a naive to expand its painkiller market share give them false information to get them the by more pills jansons accused of setting up sham organizations like the let's talk pain coalition and websites like prescribe responsibly dot com the battle false information about the dangers of their pills
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Nov 14, 2018 | Cincinnati, OH
By WKRC (WKRC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/9f39e916-488b-43df-a308-aafef7bd959b?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: new jersey's attorney general is suing us of sugary of johnson and johnson in connection to the opie ord crisis jane's flip and has more to other states texas and kentucky have already sue jansen pharmaceuticals wholly owned by new jersey based johnson andjohnson attorney general bray wall says jansen help further a culture of pill pushing and addiction with profit the goal they funded bogus research they push bogus theories like pseudo addiction things that have been the bond jansen says that the claims are baseless and counter that their pain killers are some of the least abused great wall says he could target other companies as the %hesitation purely crisis continues
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Nov 14, 2018 | New York, NY
By WNYCFM (NPR)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/6a1f10f4-10d5-4d4a-bbb1-88e26ac53435?token=4ef6530e-e0fe-4a57-b9f3-5b4e8d1a26eb
Rough Transcript: new jersey's attorney general in sealing a subsidiary of the new brunswick based johnson and johnson for playing down the risks of o. p. o. a pain killers attorney general bir veer gray wall announced the lawsuit against chance in pharmaceuticals today he's accusing the drug maker a easing on brand it marketing campaigns to push it products and targeting the elderly we can't turn a blind eye when a new jersey company like jansen violates our laws and threatens the lives of our residents gray wall is seeking unspecified damages to help cover the cost of addiction treatment services johnson and johnson is not yet responded to a requests for comment
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