Oklahoma reached an $85 million settlement deal with Teva Pharmaceuticals Sunday, just ahead of today’s landmark trial brought by the state against drug companies responsible for the deadly opioid crisis. Oklahoma settled with Purdue Pharma in March for $270 million. The trial is set to go ahead with remaining defendant Johnson & Johnson. Oklahoma’s is the first civil trial against a drug company for their role in the opioid epidemic. In court filings, Attorney General Mike Hunter likened Johnson & Johnson to a “kingpin” which has been targeting an unsuspecting public since the 1990s. There are nearly 1,900 federal and state lawsuits targeting drug makers and distributors pending around the country.
In related news, JPMorgan Chase has cut ties with Purdue Pharma, the maker of the highly addictive opioid OxyContin, according to recent reporting by Reuters.