Johnson & Johnson's $572 million opioid fine sets harrowing precedent for drugmakers

Cleveland District Court Judge Thad Balkman yesterday ordered drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson to pay the state of Oklahoma $572 million as compensation for the damage inflicted by the marketing and sale of addictive painkillers such as oxycodone. Although Oklahoma was seeking $17 billion in damages, with two dozen other companies that were involved manufacturing, distributing and selling opioids currently facing more than 2,000 lawsuits around the country, yesterday's decision could have a massive long-term impact on big pharma.