https://www.cnbc.

com/2019/11/15/johnson-johnson-stock-climbs-as-judge-reduces-opioid-penalty-to-
465-million.html

KEY POINTS
 Johnson & Johnson says it will appeal an Oklahoma judge’s new ruling on
Friday, which reduces the penalty the company must pay over the state’s opioid lawsuit
from $572 million to $465 million.

 The company’s shares climb about 3% following the decision.

 Oklahoma Judge Thad Balkman originally ordered a $572 million penalty in late
August.

Alex Gorsky, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Johnson & Johnson shares climbed about 3% Friday after an Oklahoma judge

reduced the penalty the company must pay over the state’s opioid lawsuit
from $572 million to $465 million.

Immediately after the reduction, the company said it would appeal the
decision.

Oklahoma Judge Thad Balkman originally ordered a $572 million penalty in

late August, ruling that a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary “caused an opioid
crisis that’s evidenced by increased rates of addiction, overdose deaths and
neonatal abstinence syndrome.”

The subsidiary, Janssen, repeatedly downplayed the risks of its drugs and
trained sales representatives to tell doctors that the risk of addiction was 2.6%
or less, the court said.

Johnson & Johnson also appealed that decision, arguing that there was not a
proper legal basis for Oklahoma to file a “public nuisance” claim against the
company.

Johnson & Johnson, along with other pharmaceutical companies, face

thousands of lawsuits stemming from the nationwide opioid epidemic.
Shares of drugmakers Mallinckrodt, Teva Pharmaceutical and Endo
International also rose after news of the latest ruling, jumping more than 4%,
7% and 9%, respectively.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson closed at $134.94, up 3% from where they

opened Friday.

The other pharmaceutical companies also rallied into the close: Mallinckrodt
finished at $2.91 per share, up 4% for the day; shares of Teva Pharmaceutical
closed at $10.20, up nearly 9%, and shares of Endo International closed at
$4.53, also up nearly 9%.

— CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.