Johnson & Johnson, Other Major Drug Distributors Poised to Announce $26B Global Opioid Settlement

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Details of a $26 billion opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. have been secured, with negotiators set to announce the fine print this week, Law360 reports, citing an unnamed source close to the deal. 

If approved, the multi-billion-dollar settlement will end most of the opioid-related legal challenges against the nation’s largest drug distributors, which are accused of helping to fuel the deadly opioid epidemic. 

The deal reportedly includes $5 billion from Johnson & Johnson and $21 billion from the distributors. A total of $23.5 billion will go toward repairing some of the damage caused by the opioid epidemic, while $2.5 billion will go to attorney fees and costs.

The news comes after Purdue Pharma, along with the Sackler family who owns the drug company, last week reportedly agreed to pay $4.5 billion to fifteen states in an opioid settlement.

Purdue and the Sackler family faced claims their blockbuster opioid drug OxyContin fueled a nationwide drug epidemic.  In 2017, the State of Oklahoma went after Purdue and a number of other pharmacy companies alleging they “executed massive and unprecedented marketing campaigns” that misrepresented the risks of opioid-based drugs, netting a $270 million settlement in 2019.  

Additionally, Purdue paid an undisclosed amount to resolve the claims in nearly 3,000 individual lawsuits alleging that their OxyContin and other opioid products were irresponsibly produced. 

In this latest settlement with the drug distributors, only an overview of the financial terms of the deal have been released before now, with lawyers hammering out the fine print over the past year.

Of the $2.5 billion for attorney’s fees and costs, the parties are proposing $1.6 billion to go to private counsel representing cities and counties, Law360 reported, citing its source.

Another $350 million is proposed to go to states that hired private counsel in opioid litigation, with another $350 million to go to state attorneys general who went after the distributors. Other legal costs will be covered by the remaining $200 million. 

Once the deal is made public, states will have 30 days to choose whether to be a part of the deal, according to the source. Negotiators will need most participating states to sign to move the settlement forward. The deal would then reportedly go to cities and counties to choose whether they also want to be a part of it.

“I don’t think the deal goes forward without 47 or 48 states,” the source told Law360.

Two weeks ago, Johnson & Johnson announced it would pay $230 million to settle claims that its marketing of opioids fueled a deadly drug epidemic in New York specifically, just days before it was due to defend itself in the nation’s first jury trial over the opioid crisis. 

The move meant the company did not have to face the jury trial. The companies have all denied allegations they helped fuel the opioid crisis. 

What do you think of this potential settlement? Let us know in the comments! 

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Cherokee Nation Says Opioid Advisor McKinsey Is Trying to Dodge Its Claims
• OxyContin-Maker Purdue Inks $4.5B Opioid Epidemic Settlement With 15 States
• Johnson & Johnson Will Pay $230M to Settle Opioid Marketing Claims, Won’t Face Trial
• Opioid Lawsuits Against Marketing Consultant McKinsey Get Own Multidistrict Litigation