A proposed $26 billion settlement has been reached between Johnson and the three largest U.S. drug distributors over their role in the opioid epidemic that has killed half a million Americans.
There is a number of pills on a white surface.
Johnson will pay $5 billion over nine years through a pharmaceutical subsidiary, while Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson will each pay $21 billion.
The money will be released to states and local governments that signed onto the deal in exchange for dropping their civil lawsuits against the four companies.
The first payments of the settlement will be made in April.
The tobacco settlement in 1998 was the second- largest in U.S. history.
The $26 billion deal is the latest in a series of settlements. A judge in Oklahoma ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay over half a billion dollars by the year's end after finding the company partially responsible for the state's opiate epidemic. The Sackler family proposed a $6 billion settlement last week to avoid litigation after a judge blocked their previous settlement.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that drug overdose deaths reached a record high of more than 93,000 in 2020, jumping by nearly 30% over the previous year. The surge was caused by synthetic drugs. According to a report from the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, overdose deaths cost the American economy an estimated $1 trillion annually.
Drug Companies Strike $26 Billion Opioid Settlement with States.
Drug overdose deaths increased by 29% last year, according to the CDC.
A study found that overdose deaths cost the U.S. economy $1 trillion a year.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
