Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2022-Feb-14
Teva & Texas Reach $225M Opioid Settlement
The state attorney general of Texas announced that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Texas has reached an opioid settlement worth $225 million that will resolve the opioid claims against the drugmaker.
As per the settlement agreement, Teva would pay $150 million over 15 years and provide medication to counter the effects of opioid overdoses.
It is the largest deal ever struck by Teva in more than 3,500 lawsuits faced by the company, along with other drug companies. Opioid overdoses have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths over the last two decades.
Oklahoma and Louisiana also agreed on similar settlements with Teva. Teva denied all the allegations and continued to defend itself. Teva's chief executive informed that it would be in the best interest of Teva to put the cases aside and focus on the well-being of the opioid-addicted patients.
The jury announced the verdict by considering the earlier settlements of Teva in December with the state of New York and two counties that claimed the company used deceptive marketing strategies to boost opioid sales resulting in opioid addiction among the population.
Earlier, a California judge even awarded a verdict in the favor of Teva and three other drugmakers by stating that the companies could not be held responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic in the state.
Teva Pharmaceuticals May Pay $3.6B In Opioid Settlement
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries indicated that it is ready to pay a settlement of as much as $3.6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits against the company and other drug companies over allegations of fueling the opioid crisis.
Earlier this week, Teva reached a settlement of $225 million with Texas over the opioid crisis, which included cash of $150 million and products worth $75 million.
Teva would pay $2.7 billion to $3.6 billion over 15 years as per the current settlement and the proposed $26 billion nationwide settlement, which includes the nation's three large distributors along with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
Teva's chief executive stated that the Texas model of the settlement is perfect as it fulfills the cash demand by setting aside a significant portion of the amount as products to help the people suffering from substance abuse.
In 2019, Teva offered to pay $250 million over ten years and donate $23 billion in opioid addiction treatment drugs to resolve the opioid lawsuits by the state, counties and municipalities.
The company even agreed on similar settlements with Oklahoma and Louisiana. Another deceptive marketing claim involving the state of New York and two counties were also settled by the company.
A similar lawsuit in California has been awarded in favor of Teva pharmaceuticals, where the judge stated that the drug distributors and manufacturers could not be held responsible for the opioid crisis.
New Jersey To Get $641M From A Nationwide Opioid Settlement
Johnson & Johnson (J&J), along with the nation's three largest pharmaceutical distributors, would pay $641 million as part of a nationwide opioid settlement to New jersey.
All the 21 counties and 241 municipalities of New Jersey were required to sign the agreement to get the maximum amount of more than $641 million from the $26 billion national settlement.
The agreement would help Johnson & Johnson and three pharmaceutical distributors, McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen to get rid of the opioid claims throughout the country. The companies are accused of using unethical means to promote the sale of opioids in the pharmaceutical market.
The settlement would relieve the affected families and help the government to deal with such a crisis in the future, but no money can bring back the lost lives and compensate the feelings of the families who lost their loved ones.
The final nod from the defendant companies is expected on February 25, depending on the number of states subdivisions from around the country that signed the agreement.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the death rate increased to 28% from April 2020 to April 2021 in the U.S.