US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson was once again fined. This time Johnson has to pay a fine of 230 million for the presence of excessive drugs in the drug. The fine was imposed in response to a lawsuit filed in New York. Such cases are ongoing in several other states.
Johnson & Johnson, a world-renowned US pharmaceutical company, has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning the drug industry have been made more than once. J&J has been sued in New York for USD 5 billion in damages and drug addiction due to the manufacture and sale of opioid drugs.
Letisha James, New York’s attorney general, said thousands of people had died from the drug over the past few centuries and that more than 50,000 were still addicted across the country. Although J&J denied the attorney general’s statement, doctors prescribe the drug as an analgesic.
The U.S. Drug Administration says overuse of the drug can lead to addiction. Brings drowsiness to the brain. This is why most people use it as a drug.
According to the Department of Disease Control and Prevention, from 1999 to 2016, about four lakh people died due to overdose of opioids. Of these, J&J is responsible for 60,000 deaths.
