4 U.S. companies will pay $26 billion to settle claims they fueled the opioid crisis

4 U.S. companies will pay $26 billion to settle claims they fueled the opioid crisis

Transcript¹

Most of the funds from the settlement with manufacturers and distributors of opioids such as oxycodone will go to health care and drug treatment programs designed to ease the opioid crisis.

Keith Srakocic/AP file photo

Four of the largest U.S. corporations have agreed to pay roughly $26 billion to settle a tsunami² of lawsuits³ linked to claims that their business practices helped fuel the deadly opioid crisis.

Johnson & Johnson, the consumer products and health giant that manufactured generic⁴ opioid medications, will contribute $5 billion to the settlement.

The company announced in 2020 it would get out of the prescription⁵ opioid business in the U.S. altogether.

Three massive drug wholesalers — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal⁶ Health and McKesson — will pay a combined $21 billion.

Sackler family is willing to pay more in Purdue opioids settlement, mediator⁷ says

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Sackler family is willing to pay more in Purdue opioids settlement, mediator says

"This settlement represents real accountability," said North Carolina state Attorney General Josh Stein, who helped negotiate the deal.

Stein noted⁸ that most of the funds are earmarked for health care and drug treatment programs designed to ease the opioid crisis.

"There will be people alive next year because of the programs and services we will be able to fund because of these settlement proceeds," he said.

None of the companies acknowledged any wrongdoing for their role manufacturing and distributing large quantities of pain medications at a time when opioid addiction⁹ and overdoses were surging.

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In a joint¹⁰ statement, the drug wholesalers said they had determined¹¹ that enough governments had signed onto the deal to move forward with a "comprehensive agreement to settle the vast majority of the opioid lawsuits."

In all, 46 states and roughly 90% of eligible¹² local governments have signed on to the deal, according to the companies' assessment¹³.

In a separate statement, Johnson & Johnson said its contribution to the deal would "directly support state and local efforts to make meaningful progress in addressing the opioid crisis."

The deal settles thousands of lawsuits

This settlement resolves thousands of civil lawsuits filed against the companies beginning in 2014 by local and state governments as well as Native American tribes nationwide.

"The settlement will provide thousands of communities across the United States with up to approximately $19.5 billion over 18 years," the drug distributors said in their statement.

AmerisourceBergen will pay $6.1 billion, Cardinal Health will pay $6 billion and McKesson, $7.4 billion.

Broad outlines of the deal were first unveiled in July 2021 but the companies said they wouldn't accept the settlement unless enough governments agreed to sign on and drop their suits.

Initial payments will begin in April and will continue over the next two decades.

A dangerous moment in the opioid crisis

The money will arrive at a moment when the opioid epidemic¹⁴ has escalated¹⁵ dangerously.

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Many Americans with opioid use disorder¹⁶ have shifted from taking prescription pain pills to street fentanyl, a synthetic¹⁷ opioid that is far more powerful and lethal¹⁸.

Drug overdoses now kill more than 100,000 people in the U.S. every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Joe Rice, with the firm Motley Rice, is one of the lead attorneys suing the drug industry over its alleged¹⁹ role in the opioid crisis.

He supports this settlement and said the funds will help devastated²⁰ communities "start rebuilding ... and deal with this epidemic."

Native American tribes reach a tentative opioid settlement with J&J and distributors

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Native American tribes reach a tentative opioid settlement with J&J and distributors

Rice said the deal was structured in collaboration²¹ with local government officials to avoid a problem that arose with the $246 billion tobacco settlement of the 1990s.

Much of that money has been siphoned off for projects unrelated to the public health impacts of tobacco addiction.

Rice said he believes that won't happen this time. "Going into the opioid litigation, that was recognized as being a big problem that we had to fix," he said.

According to Stein, companies have also agreed to fund a new monitoring system to prevent communities from again being flooded with high-risk medications.

"If there are too many pills going into a community, an alarm will go off, a red flag will be issued, and distributors will be put on notice," Stein said.

"It will ensure that no more communities are awash in opioids as happened over the last couple of decades."

Lawsuits highlighted the actions of companies during the crisis

While companies acknowledge no wrongdoing in this deal, opioid lawsuits laid bare company practices that state attorneys general say were deeply troubling.

In some cases, drug wholesalers continued shipping²² vast quantities of pills to small rural communities despite red flags that drugs like OxyContin were being diverted and sold on the black market.

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One email shared among executives at AmerisourceBergen — made public for the first time during a state trial last year in West Virginia — disparaged²³ people addicted²⁴ to opioids, describing them as "pillbillies" and referring to OxyContin as "hillbilly heroin²⁵."

With this $26 billion settlement now approved, negotiations²⁶ continue over a separate opioid deal involving Purdue Pharma, maker²⁷ of OxyContin, and members of the Sackler family who own the private company.

That deal, if finalized²⁸, is expected to include payouts topping $6 billion.

Meanwhile, opioid-related lawsuits continue in state and federal courts around the country focused largely on pharmacy²⁹ chains that sold large quantities of opioid medications directly to consumers.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

5 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

6 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

7 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

13 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

14 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

15 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

16 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

17 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

18 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

19 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

20 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

21 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

22 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

23 disparaged   

v.轻视( disparage的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• French-Canadian fur trappers and Sioux disparaged such country as "bad lands. " 法语的加拿大毛皮捕兽器和苏人的贬低国家作为“坏土地”。 来自互联网
• She disparaged her student's efforts. 她轻视她的学生做出的努力。 来自互联网

24 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

25 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

26 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

27 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

28 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

29 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。