Teva agrees to $4.35B settlement to end opioid lawsuits

Teva opioid settlement overview: 

• Who: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has agreed to a settlement worth $4.35 billion in order to resolve thousands of complaints made against the company. 
• Why: Teva has been accused of exacerbating the nationwide opioid epidemic. 
• Where: Teva has faced complaints in regard to the opioid epidemic nationwide.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has agreed to pay $4.35 billion to put an end to thousands of complaints alleging the company exacerbated the nationwide opioid epidemic. 

Teva will pay state and local governments as much as $3.7 billion in cash in the next 13 years under the proposed settlement agreement, reports Reuters. 

The pharmaceutical company will also reportedly contribute $1.2 billion worth of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug. 

The Teva settlement also calls for the company to pay around $100 million to Native American tribes as well as any attorney fees sustained by local governments, tribes, and the states, reports Reuters. 

State and local governments can opt to receive more cash instead of the naloxone, and will receive 20% of the value of the drug’s list price if they choose to go that route, per the Teva settlement. 

Cash portion of opioid settlements exceeds Teva CEO’s prior estimates

The cash portion of the settlement exceeds what Teva CEO Kare Schultz had suggested to analysts in May that he expected it to be, reports Reuters. 

Schultz, at that time, reportedly told analysts that he expected Teva to pay around $2.6 billion worth of cash and medicine in the event of a settlement. 

Uncertainty surrounding a potential opioid settlement has hurt Teva’s stock price this year, with shares for the company falling 11% since January, reports Reuters. 

Teva reportedly had wanted to include more medicines and less cash, however some states and counties apparently questioned the true value of what it cost to make the drugs that were included in proposed agreements. 

The settlement going through remains dependent on separate settlements already agreed to be AbbVie’s Allergan unit—which had its generic drug business acquired by Teva back in 2016—reports Reuters. 

Also this month, Rite Aid agreed to pay $10.5 million to resolve three complaints made against the company over claims revolving around its alleged role in exacerbating the nationwide opioid epidemic.  

Have you or a loved one been affected by the nationwide opioid epidemic? Let us know in the comments!

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