Two Drug Makers & Two Pharmacies Finalize Opioid Settlement Agreements
Final approval was announced Friday by Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings of $17.3-billion in opioid agreements with drug makers Teva and Allergan and pharmacies CVS and Walgreens. Funds will begin to be released to a national administrator later this summer and to state and local governments by the end of this year. Delaware will receive about $68.9-million over 15 years from these four defendants. A final agreement with Walmart is anticipated in coming weeks.
Additional information from the Attorney General’s Office:
The settlements will also require Teva’s opioid business to provide stringent injunctive relief that, among other things, will prevent all opioid marketing and ensure systems are in place to prevent drug misuse. Additionally, Allergan is required to stop selling opioids for the next 10 years. CVS and Walgreens have agreed to injunctive relief that requires the pharmacies to monitor, report, and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions. This court-ordered injunctive relief will help ensure a crisis like this does not happen again.
Delaware will receive approximately $68.9 million over 15 years from the four defendants. National investigations and litigation against the pharmaceutical industry over the opioid crisis has led to more than $50 billion; Delaware ultimately expects to receive nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, all of which will be deposited into the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Fund created by 2021’s Senate Bill 166.
Attorney Jennings co-led the multi-state CVS and Walgreens negotiations with her colleagues from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas. Teva and Allergan negotiations were led by attorneys general from Iowa, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
