Alabama Reached A $276M Settlement In Opioid Crisis

Alabama Reached A $276M Settlement In Opioid Crisis

Introduction

The state attorney general of Alabama said that the state has reached a $276 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson Corp and Endo International Plc to resolve the opioid addiction crisis claims against the companies.

As per the agreement, the drugmakers Johnson & Johnson and Endo will pay $70.3 million and $25 million, respectively, whereas the drug distributor McKesson will pay $141 million to fight the opioid crisis. The companies would even pay $40 million in attorneys' fees.

The drugmakers are accused of practicing deceptive marketing strategies to downplay the addiction risk of painkillers, and the distributor, McKesson, is accused of failing to prevent the diversion of opioids for illicit purposes. All the companies have denied the allegations against them and said that they are not responsible for the crisis.

A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson (J&J), manufacturers of pain medications Duragesic and Nucynta, said that the company has stopped selling prescription opioids in the United States. The company even claimed that its past marketing efforts were appropriate and responsible.

Earlier, Alabama declined to join the $26 billion national opioid settlement, which included McKesson and two other top U.S. distributors, citing the amount to be alloted to the state from the settlement would be inadequate to deal with the opioid crisis. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said that the state would get more amount and faster payout from McKesson in the current litigation compared to the national settlement.

If the state would have joined the national settlement, it would have received $115 million over 18 years from McKesson and $70.3 million over nine years from J&J. But as per the new settlement, Mckesson will pay the amount in nine years, and J&J will make the full payment within a year.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. has reported more than 500,000 opioid overdose deaths over two decades.