\tNew York, Sept 5 (AFP\/APP):Three pharmaceutical companies said Saturday they had received enough support from US states to move to the next stage of a $26 billion settlement over thousands of legal claims related to the opioid epidemic.<\/p>\n
The opioid crisis — exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic — has killed more than half a million people in the United States.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson said they had received the green light from 42 out of 49 states, Washington DC, and five US territories. <\/p>\n
The companies said they had “determined that enough states have agreed to settle to proceed to the next phase”.<\/p>\n
The pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, which also announced in July it would pay $5 billion to settle lawsuits in the same case, was not mentioned in the statement. J&J did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.<\/p>\n
The proposed settlement hopes to end nearly 4,000 lawsuits filed by dozens of US states and local governments.<\/p>\n
Under the terms of the agreement, the payment of $26 billion — which would finance rehabilitation programs across the country — is contingent on the number of states that approve it.<\/p>\n
Each participating state now has until January 2 to ask their local governments if they want to be part of the settlement.<\/p>\n
If the conditions are met, the agreement will come into force “60 days after the distributors determine that there is sufficient participation to proceed,” according to the statement.<\/p>\n
The settlement — if finalized — will be the most significant in the complex legal battle by states and communities to hold the powerful firms accountable.<\/p>\n
In a separate case, a US judge approved Wednesday a bankruptcy plan proposed by Purdue, accused of contributing to the opioid crisis by aggressively promoting its drug OxyContin.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, owners the Sackler family will pay a total of $4.5 billion to those affected in exchange for immunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New York, Sept 5 (AFP\/APP):Three pharmaceutical companies said Saturday they had received enough support from US states to move to the next stage of a $26 billion settlement over thousands of legal claims related to the opioid epidemic. The opioid crisis — exacerbated by the […]<\/p>\n
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