Tag: Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson Shells Out Nearly $9 Billion to Settle Cancer Allegations

Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Johnson & Johnson agreed to dole out $8.9 billion to numerous people who alleged the pharmaceutical giant’s talcum powder products led to cancer on Tuesday, according to a proposal released in filing Tuesday.

The plaintiffs include the relatives of people who perished from ovarian cancer and mesothelioma allegedly due to Johnson & Johnson products; if the settlement is approved, it will put an end to their long legal saga, according to The New York Times. Under Johnson & Johnson’s proposed settlement, the giant would pay the nearly $9 billion over the next 25 years to the plaintiffs.

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Pennsylvania Counties Take the Lead in Spending Opioid Settlement Dollars

The Center Square

Pennsylvania is set to spend $1 billion from the National Opioid Settlement – and the focus is on the county level.

Pennsylvania’s share of the $26 billion settlement will be divvied up so that 70% goes to counties, 15% is appropriated by the General Assembly, and 15% goes to counties involved in the opioid litigation, subdivisions, district attorneys, and special districts.

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Nearly 75 Percent of Pennsylvania Counties Have Signed Onto Opioid Settlement

The Center Square
pill bottles spilled onto a table

Fifty Pennsylvania counties have joined a historic global opioid settlement that is expected to bring $1 billion to the state to fight the opioid crisis.

The $26 billion settlement involves the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors – Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen – as well as Johnson & Johnson. The agreement requires industry changes to help prevent a similar crisis in the future, in addition to the funds, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

“Pennsylvania lost 5,172 lives to overdoses in the last year alone, which is 14 Pennsylvanians a day. This settlement is going to provide resources to jumpstart programs that will change lives and impact families across our commonwealth who are struggling to find treatment and help for those struggling with substance abuse,” Shapiro said. “These funds will be earmarked to offer and expand life-saving treatment options, prioritizing the areas that have been most affected by this crisis.”

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Version of Pfizer Vaccine that Predates FDA Approval Still Being Distributed in Pennsylvania

Bradley Vasoli
healthcare worker giving vaccination

Of the three companies producing COVID vaccines in the U.S., only one—Pfizer Inc.—has yet gained full FDA approval, and at least some Pfizer vaccines currently being administered in Pennsylvania come from inventory that predates that approval.

On Aug. 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a Pfizer shot to prevent severe COVID-19 cases. Like Johnson & Johnson and Moderna, Pfizer had been a manufacturing vaccine to fight the coronavirus under federal emergency-use authorization (EUA). The injection produced by Pfizer under EUA is known as Pfizer BioNTech and the company’s post-FDA approval vaccine is called Comirnaty (pronounced kuh-MUR-nit-ee).

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