The hearing resumes at 2:30 p.m. ET
The judge issued a break for lunch. We will pick up live coverage when it starts.
Drugmaker said opioids were rarely addictive when FDA said the same, defense says
Defense lawyer Larry Ottaway began laying out the case for Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals in his opening statement.
He cited John Adam’s famous quote — “Facts are stubborn things” — criticized some of the allegations made by Oklahoma, which brought the lawsuit against his clients.
He said that in 2009, when Janssen said opioids were rarely addictive, the Food and Drug Administration also said that opioids “rarely caused addiction.”
The court is now on a lunch break. The defense team will continue its opening statements when they return at 1:30 p.m.
Oklahoma just wrapped its opening statement
“Johnson & Johnson helped create this public nuisance in Oklahoma, and here is what they did your honor. Both falsely and deceptively, through multiple methods and with others, promoted opioids for the treatment of chronic, non-malignant pain,” he said.
He cited the book, “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten,” and said Johnson & Johnson should be responsible for cleaning up their own messes.
What happens next: Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals will begin their opening statements after a 20-minute recess.
There were 135 opioid pills for every adult in one Oklahoma county, lawyer says
Brad Beckworth, a private attorney hired by the State of Oklahoma, said Johnson & Johnson “aggressively” marketed its products to anyone and everyone.
He also broke down some of the numbers behind the opioid crisis in Oklahoma:
- 135 opioid pills were available for every adult in Cleveland County, Oklahoma — where the trial is being held.
- 139,359 years of life were lost as a result of overdose deaths of prescription opioids, Beckworth said.
- There were 149,183 sales visits made to doctors in the state of Oklahoma between 1999 and 2005, he told the judge.
Johnson & Johnson was in a “race” with another opioid maker, state says
CHRIS LANDSBERGER/POOL
Brad Beckworth, a private attorney hired by the State of Oklahoma compared Johnson & Johnson to Oxycontin maker Purdue — and said the two drug giants were in a competition over opioids.
Beckworth quoted a song from the musical “Annie Get Your Gun” — “Anything you can do, I can do better” — when describing Johnson & Johnson mirroring actions of Purdue and finding ways to get people to start taking their drug and keep taking it.
“Johnson & Johnson was in a race with Purdue to do the same things,” he said.
Johnson & Johnson marketed opioids as safe for everyday pain and made them too widely available, state says
CHRIS LANDSBERGER/POOL
The state of Oklahoma continues their opening statement in the civil trial where they allege Johnson and Johnson and their subsidiary Jensen Pharmaceuticals fueled the opioid crisis and created a “public nuisance.”
Mike Hunter, the state attorney general, called the opioid crisis “the worst manmade public health crisis in the history of our state and country.”
“The pain, anguish and heartbreak… is almost impossible to comprehend,” he said. “How did this happen? At the end of the day, your honor, I have a short one word answer – greed.”
In their zeal to produce a magic drug, the company engaged in a “multimillion dollar brainwashing campaign,” he said, that impacted real families.
Brad Beckworth, a private attorney hired by the State of Oklahoma said Johnson & Johnson’s marketing of the drugs as safe and effective for everyday pain made them too widely available.
“We must act deliberately, we must ask decisively,” he said. “There is no better place than right here, right now.”
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