CLEVELAND: Four large drug companies could resume talks on Tuesday to try to reach a US$48 billion settlement of all opioid litigation against them, after agreeing with two Ohio counties to a US$260 million deal to avert the first federal trial over their role in the U.S. opioid epidemic.
Israel-based Teva said it was paying US$20 million in cash and will contribute US$25 million worth of Suboxone, an opioid addiction treatment. Hanly said his team rejected a proposed US$18 billion settlement last week from the three distributors because the payments were due to be made over 18 yeas. It was not yet clear if the settlement framework the four states announced would receive support from other states or the local governments, who had previously contended it was inadequate.
The so-called bellwether, or test trial, that had been set for Monday could have helped shape a broader settlement of some 2,600 lawsuits pending over the toll opioids have taken on local communities and the nation. The settlement, if extrapolated to a nationwide deal resolving all litigation for the four defendants, suggests a settlement value of around US$48 billion, based on a court-approved allocation formula. Hanly said he had not done the same calculation, but thought it was likely worth more.
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