Florida secures $860M from CVS, pharmaceutical companies to settle opioid case

Florida announced on Wednesday an $860 million settlement agreement with CVS, Teva and Allergan, ending the state’s opioid lawsuit against the pharmaceutical companies.

CVS will pay $484 million, Teva will pay about $177 million and Allergan will pay more than $134 million to resolve claims of their alleged roles in the opioid epidemic, according to a release from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

Additionally, Teva will provide $84 million worth of the overdose-reversal drug Narcan to Florida, while the state has also finalized a $65 million settlement agreement with Endo Health Solutions, Moody said.

“The opioid epidemic is wreaking havoc on Florida families,” Moody said in a statement. “We have now secured an additional $860 million to help mitigate the harm caused to Florida’s communities.”

A trial with Walgreens, which is not part of the settlement agreement, is scheduled for April.

CVS released a statement on Wednesday saying the settlement is not an acknowledgement of guilt and that the money will be paid over the course of 18 years.

Thomas Moriarty, chief policy and external affairs officer and general counsel at CVS Health, said the pharmaceutical company looks “forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with the State of Florida in providing programs, services and solutions to reduce the illegitimate use of opioid medications.”

“Putting these claims behind us is in the best interest of all parties and helps sharpen our focus on delivering a personalized, connected health care experience for the millions of consumers who rely on us,” Moriarty said in a statement.

Teva also released a statement saying it was not admitting to wrongdoing and that it would pay its settlement agreement over 15 years and the $84 million worth of Narcan over 10 years.

Teva called the agreement “another critical step forward in getting life-saving treatments to people suffering from opioid addiction.”

The news follows other large opioid settlement agreements this year, including a historic $26 billion agreement between Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson, pouring billions of dollars into communities across the country.

Florida is getting $1.6 billion out of that agreement, according to Moody. The state also settled with McKinsey & Company for $40 million last year.

Purdue Pharma, the makers of the drug Oxycontin, also reached a new settlement agreement with states and local governments this month for $6 billion.

Nearly 841,000 people have died from drug overdoses since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Opioids are considered the “main driver” of drug overdose deaths.

According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, Florida experiences more than 5,000 overdose deaths per year and accounts for 7.49 percent of all overdose deaths in the country.

Settlement agreements strive to relieve communities and local governments struggling with the ongoing epidemic. More than 240 subdivisions agreed to the CVS settlement to spend funds on opioid abatement, including prevention efforts, treatment and recovery services.