Study of CAH
- 10/21/2019 – Teva Shares Higher After Drugmaker Proposes $23B Global Opioid Settlement, The settlement, over and above an earlier agreement to settle with two Ohio counties, aims to resolve all outstanding opioid-related claims.
- 10/21/2019 – Four Drug Companies Reach Last-Minute Settlement in Opioid Litigation
McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and Teva agree to $260 million settlement
CLEVELAND—Four drug companies have reached a $260 million settlement at the last minute to avoid a trial here seeking to blame them for fueling the opioid crisis, attorneys said Monday.
The country’s top drug distributors, McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp., agreed to pay $215 million, attorneys said. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., an Israel-based manufacturer of medicine, will pay $20 million in cash over the next two years and donate $25 million in addiction-treatment drugs, attorneys said.
The settlements with two Ohio counties put off the federal jury trial for the companies but fall short of a more comprehensive deal currently being negotiated to resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits nationwide.
The five companies were the last left for the trial after several other drugmakers settled with the two counties in recent weeks.
The Ohio trial was expected to be closely watched as a benchmark for how the broader opioid litigation could be resolved. Virtually every state, along with thousands of local governments, have sued the pharmaceutical industry seeking to recover money to help address the impact of the opioid crisis.
McKesson, Cardinal and AmerisourceBergen collectively controlled 95% of the U.S. drug distribution market in 2018, according to Drug Channels Institute, which provides research on the drug-supply chain. The three companies are among the largest in the U.S., all ranking in the top 25 of the Fortune 500.
Lawyers for cities and counties have balked at the proposal, which includes $18 billion to be paid over 18 years from AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal and McKesson; $4 billion from Johnson & Johnson over a shorter time frame; and the donation of drugs from Teva and distribution services valued at as high as $28 billion.
The local governments say that the money doesn’t come fast enough to help them address the ramifications of the opioid crisis and that too much of the funds would be controlled at the state level.
“I’m dedicated to going back to the table as soon as I get some sleep, to see if progress can be made,” said Joe Rice, one of the lead plaintiff attorneys.
