The explosion of powerful, readily available painkillers on the US market has helped drive a massive increase in overdose deaths as Americans attempt to self-medicate chronic illnesses. Half a million have died in the past 20 years from opioid overdoses, but only recently has the government attempted to reign in the corporate drug makers.
A New York jury ruled on Thursday that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and some of its units had helped to create the opioid addiction epidemic in the United States through its marketing and distribution of painkillers.
The ruling did not address the subject of damages, but it opens the Petah Tikva-based corporation up to lawsuits by claimants.
While other companies in the case reached separate settlements with the State of New York, which required them to pay a total of $1.7 billion in fines, Teva and its subsidiary, including Anda and Cephalon, remained defiant until the end.