Janssen Pharmaceuticals' statement on lawsuit against opioid manufacturers

In “Take as Prescribed,” Fault Lines explores why so many elderly Americans are becoming addicted to painkillers—and what’s being done to stop it. The film premieres on Monday, Aug. 31, at 10 p.m. Eastern time/7 p.m. Pacific on Al Jazeera America. | Click here to find Al Jazeera in your area.

In May 2014, two counties in the state of California—Orange and Santa Clara—filed a lawsuit against five pharmaceutical manufacturers, alleging that they overstated the benefits of opioid painkillers and downplayed the risks, especially in cases where the drugs are used to treat chronic pain. The counties say the companies made record profits by creating a market for opioids among a massive group of chronic pain sufferers, the elderly.

The five companies named in the ongoing litigation are: Actavis, Cephalon Inc., Endo Health Solutions Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Purdue Pharma.

Fault Lines reached out to all five for on-camera interviews. Only Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, responded, with the following statement:

At Janssen, we put the needs and well-being of the patients, caregivers and families we serve first. More than 100 million American adults suffer from chronic pain, a significant public health problem that places a tremendous emotional and financial burden on patients and their families. Our opioid pain medications give doctors and patients important choices to help manage the debilitating effects of chronic pain.

Janssen has acted appropriately, responsibly and in the best interests of patients regarding our opioid pain medications, which are FDA-approved and carry FDA-mandated warnings about the known risks of the medications on every product label.

We firmly believe the allegations in the lawsuits are both legally and factually unfounded.