McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen Drug, the three largest US drug distributors, have agreed to pay up to $1.18bn to settle the ongoing opioid-related case with the New York State and its participating subdivisions Nassau County and Suffolk County.
The deal is to resolve the claims made by New York State attorney-general Letitia James over the companies’ role in fuelling the opioid epidemic in the country.
The companies have agreed to the largest monetary settlement and will also be removed from the ongoing opioid trial, which is currently underway in Suffolk County.
As part of the agreement, they will make the payment over the next 17 years, which will begin in two months.
Of the total amount, approximately $1bn will go toward opioid abatement efforts in New York.
James said: “For more than two decades, the opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on countless communities throughout New York and across the rest of the nation, killing hundreds of thousands of our friends and family members and addicting millions more.
“While no amount of money will ever compensate for the millions of addictions, the hundreds of thousands of deaths, or the countless communities decimated by opioids, this money will be vital in preventing any future devastation.”
It is also noted that the trial against Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, and Allergan Finance is now underway and will continue in state court.
Last month, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay up to $230m for the state’s opioid prevention and treatment efforts to settle the opioid case with the New York State as well as with Nassau County and Suffolk County.
As part of the deal, the company was removed from the opioid trial and banned from promoting opioids or opioid products via sales representatives, sponsorships, financial support or any additional approaches.