J&J, Distributors Unveil $26 Billion Opioid Deal With States
- Accord resolves thousands of suits over addictive painkillers
- States say cash will be used to provide much-needed treatment
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Drug maker Johnson & Johnson and three opioid distributors agreed to pay a combined $26 billion to resolve thousands of state and local government lawsuits over the handling of addictive painkillers that created a U.S. public-health crisis.
The landmark deal -- years in the making -- calls for McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. to pay almost $21 billion to resolve allegations they turned a blind eye to suspiciously large opioid shipments, the companies and state attorneys general said Wednesday. J&J will pay $5 billion to settle claims it illegally marketed opioids, which it stopped making last year.