Two large drugmakers and two of the biggest pharmacy chains finalized a $17.3 billion deal to settle accusations by state governments that they contributed to the opioid crisis that swept across the U.S. for more than a decade and contributed to thousands of overdose deaths.
The agreement —which involves Teva Pharmaceuticals; Allergan, a unit of AbbVie; CVS; and Walgreens — is the latest involving several major players blamed for the crisis. Last year, dozens of states and thousands of local communities reached a global settlement worth $26 billion with three largest pharmaceutical wholesalers as well as Johnson & Johnson to resolve civil lawsuits.
As part of the deal, Teva agreed not to market opioids and will provide its generic version of Narcan, the overdose reversal medication, which it has valued at $1.2 billion. Allergan is required to stop selling opioids for the next 10 years, while CVS and Walgreens have agreed to monitor, report, and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions.
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