Drugmakers say products were heavily regulated

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – Drug companies being sued by the state of Oklahoma for fueling the state’s opioid addiction crisis say the products they manufactured were heavily regulated by state and federal agencies and addressed an important need for pain management.
Attorneys for Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson delivered opening statements Tuesday in the nation’s first state trial against drugmakers blamed for contributing to the opioid crisis.
Janssen attorney Larry Ottaway told a Cleveland County judge that the company represents only a small part of a vast supply and distribution chain for opioid products that is extensively regulated by various federal agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says the powerful painkillers led to the “worst manmade public health crisis” in U.S. history.