People walk past the CVS Pharmacy store in the Manhattan area of New York City.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Florida has reached more than $ 878 million in calculations with CVS Health and three pharmaceutical companies to address claims and prevent a trial next month over their roles in fueling the opioid epidemic in the third most populous U.S. state.
CVS will pay $ 484 million, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries pay $ 194.8 million, AbbyThe Allergan division will pay $ 134.2 million and Endo International will pay $ 65 million, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said Wednesday.
Most of the money will be spent on reducing opioids. Teva will also provide $ 84 million of its total Narcan nasal spray, which may temporarily alter the effect of the opioid overdose.
Four companies denied wrongdoing, agreeing to a settlement. Endo’s agreement was reached in January.
Moody told the pharmacy chain Walgreens is the only defendant left in the Florida trial, and the jury selection is set to begin April 5.
Walgreens said its opioid-related settlement with Florida in 2012 covers the state’s latest claims, and that it will defend against “unwarranted attacks” on its pharmacists.
CVS and Teva have said they will defend against other opioid lawsuits, and Teva has said it is “actively” negotiating a national settlement of such claims. Allergan said his settlement also covers claims for common opioids he sold to Teva in 2016.
Endo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Florida announced the meeting nine days after Rhode Island reached a similar deal with Theva and Allergan worth $ 107 million.
More than 500,000 people have died from opioid overdoses over the past two decades nationwide, including 75,673 for the year ending April 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
February 25 Johnson and Johnson and drug dealers AmerisourceBergen, Drastic health and McKesan reached final estimates of $ 26 billion for their role in the nationwide epidemic.
State governments, local and Native American tribal authorities in the United States have filed more than 3,300 lawsuits accusing drugmakers such as OxyContin Purdue Pharma of fueling opioid abuse, including by reducing the risk of addiction.
