J&J, Teva Opioid Trial May Signal Cost of Drug Maker Accords (2)

A California judge may soon provide a clearer picture of what it will cost drug makers including Johnson & Johnson and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.to resolve liability for their role in the U.S. opioid epidemic.

The first trial against opioid companies in almost two years started Monday in Santa Ana, where four California municipalities are demanding at least $50 billion for what they claim was the illegal marketing of pain pills. The case, which will be decided without a jury and tried virtually, may be a road map for thousands of similar claims pending against drug makers, distributors and ...