CVs Health and Walgreens Are The Most Recent In The Line Of Settlements Concerning The Opioid Problem
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Summary:
- CVS Health and Walgreens, have agreed to pay roughly $10 billion.
- These are the first agreements made by pharmacy chains related to their involvement in the US opioid crisis.
CVs Health and Walgreens settle opioid lawsuits
The two largest US drugstore chains, CVS Health and Walgreens, have agreed to pay roughly $10 billion to resolve the majority of the ongoing legal disputes relating to the prescription of potent opioid medicines.
These are the first agreements made by pharmacy chains related to their involvement in the US opioid crisis, which has resulted in tens of thousands of fatalities in recent years.
“The agreement would fully resolve claims dating back a decade or more and is not an admission of any liability or wrongdoing,” the company added, as it released third-quarter results. “CVS Health will continue to defend against any litigation that the final agreement does not resolve.”
With payments totaling around $4.79 billion over 15 years, Walgreens announced that it has achieved an agreement in principle to defend against the "vast majority" of opioid lawsuits brought against it by states. Under the deal, it anticipates paying native American tribes an additional $154 million.
According to Walgreens, the agreements did not include the firm admitting any wrongdoing or guilt. According to a Tuesday Bloomberg News article, a $12 billion opioid settlement agreement had been reached between CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens.
The in-principle agreements reached with CVS and Walgreens "are an important step in our efforts to hold pharmacy defendants accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic," according to the negotiating team in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, a group of senior attorneys who have been working on the opioid lawsuits.
The settlements with CVS and Walgreens are the most recent in a line of settlements concerning the opioid problem.
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Sources: ft.com, finance.yahoo.com
