Oklahoma clears path for J&J, Teva, Purdue to face opioid trial

The Oklahoma Supreme Court declined to delay a landmark trial set for May in a major lawsuit claiming that OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma along with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Teva (TEVA) helped fuel an opioid abuse and overdose epidemic in Oklahoma, Reuters’ Nate Raymond reports. The decision by the state’s top court was a win for Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, whose case is set to be the first to face trial of roughly 2,000 suits nationally aiming to hold opioid makers responsible for contributing to the epidemic, Raymond notes. Hunter’s 2017 suit accuses Purdue, J&J, and Teva of engaging in deceptive marketing that downplayed the risks of opioid addiction while overstating the benefits, the author notes
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