Israel’s Teva Reaches Potential $4.25 Billion US Opioid Deal

Israeli generic drug maker Teva has reached an agreement in principle to pay $4.25 billion over 13 years to settle a series of lawsuits over its role in the US opioid epidemic.

If the deal goes through, Teva would become the latest major company to reach an agreement on the crisis that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and devastated communities across the country.

“Teva has reached agreement in principle with the Working Group of Attorneys General, Native American Tribal Counsels and Plaintiffs’ Counsel representing the states and subdivisions on the primary financial terms of a statewide opioid agreement,” the company said in its second financial results quarterly

“Teva will pay up to $4.25 billion (including cases already resolved) plus approximately $100 million for the tribes spread over 13 years,” it said.

The total includes up to $1.2 billion in the generic version of Narcan, which can reverse opioid overdoses.

The deal will include “no admission of wrongdoing,” the company said.

Teva has already completed several opioid-related lawsuits and reached settlements with some states.

The opioid crisis, which has caused more than 500,000 deaths in the United States over 20 years, has sparked a series of lawsuits from victims, as well as cities, counties and states affected by the consequences.

Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three major distributors, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health, have agreed to pay $24.5 billion over several years to settle more than 3,000 lawsuits.

Purdue Pharma, believed by many to be a key driver of the crisis due to its aggressive promotion of its pain reliever OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 as it faced a spate of lawsuits.