Top drug firms to pay $26bn in US opioid settlement

WASHINGTON: A group of state attorneys general unveiled on Wednesday a landmark $26 billion settlement with large drug companies for allegedly fuelling the deadly nationwide opioid epidemic, but the deal still requires support from thousands of local governments.

Under the settlement proposal, the three largest US drug distributors - McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergenare expected to pay a combined $21 billion, while drugmaker Johnson & Johnson would pay $5 billion.

The money is expected to be used on addiction treatment, family support, education and other social programmes.

“There’s not enough money in the world, frankly, to address the pain and suffering,” said Connecticut attorney general William Tong, but added that the money will “help where help is needed”.

The deal represents the second-largest cash settlement ever, trailing only the $246 billion tobacco agreement in 1998. Attorneys general from 15 states were involved in negotiating the deal, as were lead lawyers for local governments.

McKesson will pay up to $7.9 billion, while AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal each agreed to provide up to $6.4 billion. The payments will be made over 18 years. J&J will pay over nine years, with up to $3.7 billion paid during the first three years. Around $2.2 billion of the total would cover attorneys fees and legal costs.

To receive the full payout, the agreement needs support from at least 48 states, 98% of litigating local governments and 97% of the jurisdictions that have yet to sue. The distributors were accused of lax controls that allowed massive amounts of addictive painkillers to be diverted into illegal channels, devastating communities, while J&J was accused of downplaying the addiction risk in its opioid marketing.