REUTERS: The chief executives of the three largest U.S. drug distributors and a drugmaker have been summoned to appear before a federal judge to discuss a proposal to resolve thousands of lawsuits alleging they fueled the U.S. opioid crisis, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
All of those companies except J&J are set to be defendants in the trial before Polster, who oversees the bulk of the litigation. Polster has pushed for a deal that could"do something meaningful to abate this crisis." Under the proposal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health would pay US$18 billion over 18 years and J&J would pay US$4 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.Teva has offered to give away medications it values at US$15 billion as part of an overall deal it values at roughly US$28 million under which it would also provide distribution services, the people said.
Opioids were responsible for roughly 400,000 overdose deaths in the United States from 1999 to 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.