$572 Million Decision Against Johnson & Johnson in Landmark Opioid Trial

The first case against a drug manufacturer for the national public health disaster may indicate what lies ahead in 2,000 more lawsuits.

A judge in Oklahoma on Monday ruled against Johnson & Johnson, the deep-pocketed corporate giant, and ordered it to pay the state $572 million in the first trial of an opioid manufacturer for the destruction wrought by prescription painkillers.

Johnson & Johnson, which contracted with poppy growers in Tasmania, supplied 60 percent of the opiate ingredients that drug companies used for opioids like oxycodone, the state had argued, and aggressively marketed opioids to doctors and patients as safe and effective. A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, made its own opioids — a pill whose rights it sold in 2015, and a fentanyl patch that it still produces. read more »

Boeing’s troubles cost the aerospace industry $4bn a quarter

There is no end in sight

Boeing has long been a central cog of America’s industrial machine. Each year it sells $100bn-worth of aerospace equipment and services around the world and pays $45bn to other American firms. It is the world’s largest aircraft-maker and America’s largest manufacturing exporter. Its commercial jets, which account for 60% of revenues, ferry millions of passengers. One in 100 American workers toils either directly for Boeing, whose workforce numbers 137,000 in its home country, or one of its 13,600 domestic suppliers, which employ a further 1.3m people in mostly well-paid jobs. In short, what is good for Boeing is good for corporate America.

The flipside is also true, as has become obvious in the wake of two crashes of Boeing’s 737 max aircraft, in October and March, which have been linked to a malfunctioning flight-software system, and which killed 346 people. The human cost is immeasurable. The financial blow to Boeing itself, its suppliers and its airline customers is more tangible—and mounting. read more »

McKinsey Advised Johnson & Johnson on Increasing Opioid Sales

At the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the rule is sacrosanct: Never publicly disclose client advice. And for the most part, adherence to that rule has served the company well.

But in recent months, as government officials seek to assign blame for the opioid crisis that has strangled large parts of the nation, McKinsey’s advice is surfacing in ways that are deeply embarrassing for the influential firm, whose clients include many of the world’s most admired companies. One lawsuit stated that McKinsey advised a pharmaceutical company to “get more patients on higher doses of opioids” and study techniques “for keeping patients on opioids longer.” read more »

How big pharma is targeting India's booming opioid market

As India loosens its stringent narcotics laws, US companies including Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories and a network affiliated with Purdue Pharma are rushing in.

As major pharmaceutical companies look to capitalize on the opportunity, the playbook unfolding in India seems familiar. Earnest advocates share heartbreaking stories of suffering patients; physicians and pharmaceutical companies champion pain relief for cancer patients and persuade regulators to grant greater access to powerful opioids; well-meaning pain doctors open clinics; shady pain clinics follow; and a spigot of prescription opioids opens – first addressing legitimate medical uses but soon spilling into the streets and onto the black market.

A looming deluge of addictive painkillers terrifies some Indian medical professionals, who are keenly aware that despite government regulations most drugs are available for petty cash at local chemist shops. read more »

Prosecutors raid Deutsche Boerse offices over share-trading scam

Public prosecutors on Tuesday raided offices of German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) as part of a broader investigation into a fraudulent share-trading scheme, Cologne public prosecutor’s office said.

A Deutsche Boerse spokesman confirmed that offices of its Clearsteam subsidiary were searched, adding that the investigation was focused on both clients and staff.

The investigations focus on a practice, known as cum-ex, which involves cross-border trading of company shares around a syndicate of banks, investors and hedge funds to create the impression of numerous owners, with each entitled to a tax rebate. read more »