World News | Tentative USD 161.5 Million Settlement Reached in US Opioid Trial
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Attorneys for the state of West Virginia and two remaining pharmaceutical manufacturers have reached a tentative USD 161.5 million settlement just as closing arguments were set to begin in a seven-week trial over the opioid epidemic, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said on Wednesday.
Charleston (US), May 25 (AP) Attorneys for the state of West Virginia and two remaining pharmaceutical manufacturers have reached a tentative USD 161.5 million settlement just as closing arguments were set to begin in a seven-week trial over the opioid epidemic, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said on Wednesday.
Morrisey announced the development in court in the state's lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc., AbbVie's Allergan and their family of companies.
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The judge agreed to put the trial on hold to give the parties the opportunity to reach a full settlement agreement in the upcoming weeks. No financial terms were announced.
“We are very optimistic that we can do so,” Morrisey said.
The trial started on April 4. The lawsuit accused the defendants of downplaying the risks of addiction associated with opioid use while overstating the benefits.
West Virginia had reached a USD 99 million settlement with Johnson and Johnson's subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. last month over the drugmaker's role in perpetuating the opioid crisis in the state that has long led the nation in drug overdose deaths.
Before the trial started, Morrisey's office announced the state settled part of the lawsuit involving another defendant, Endo Health Solutions, for USD 26 million.
State and local governments, Native American tribes, unions, hospitals and other entities have filed more than 3,000 lawsuits involving the opioid epidemic in state and federal courts.
In Charleston, a separate bench trial wrapped up last summer in a federal lawsuit accusing AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson of fuelling the opioid crisis in Cabell County and the city of Huntington. That judge has not indicated when he will rule. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)