Pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies have agreed to pay $19 billion in an opioid settlement with state and local governments, settling lawsuits alleging that Allergan, Teva Pharmaceuticals, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart drove the opioid epidemic. The settlement comes after AbbVie (through Allergan) and Teva were set to pay some $5 billion to settle about 3,500 opioid lawsuits more than a year ago. Johnson & Johnson has also been contending with an onslaught of opioid lawsuits and agreed to resolve allegations for $26 billion along with distributors McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health in February 2022. Nearly every state opted into the settlements along with more than 3,400 counties, cities, and other local agencies. Under the agreement, at least 85% of the awarded funds should be used to stop the opioid crisis and help communities cope with its effects. The drug companies and pharmacies are also required to update their opioid practices including implementing better monitoring systems.
Pharmaceuticals, opioids, settlement, lawsuits, monitoring systems