CVS Health and Walgreen Co. Agree to Pay About $5B Each in Opioid Settlement

CVS Health and Walgreen Co., two of America’s largest pharmaceutical chains, have announced agreements in principle Wednesday to pay about $5 billion each to settle nationwide lawsuits over the toll of opioids, CBS News reported.

This agreement makes the two chains the first major pharmacies to reach a nationwide settlement of lawsuits over how it handled prescriptions for opioid painkillers. CVS would pay about $5 billion over 10 years, CBS News reported.

On Wednesday, CVS announced its proposed deal just as it released its quarterly earnings. The company didn't admit liability or wrongdoing and said nonfinancial terms remain to be resolved, but the company booked a $3.4 billion loss in the quarter stemming from the settlement, CBS News reported.

"We are pleased to resolve these longstanding claims and putting them behind us is in the best interest of all parties, as well as our customers, colleagues and shareholders," Thomas Moriarty, the CVS chief policy officer and general counsel said in a statement. "We are committed to working with states, municipalities and tribes, and will continue our own important initiatives to help reduce the illegitimate use of prescription opioids."

Opioids, the powerful and addictive class of both prescription and illegal drugs, have been the cause for  more than 500,000 overdose deaths over the past two decades including more than 80,000 in 2021 alone, CNN reported.

Walgreens in the meantime has disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had agreed to pay about $5.7 billion over 15 years, Reuters reported.

Walgreens has not admitted wrongdoing, Reuters said.

The two companies, CVS and Walgreens, said their agreements would not be final until certain non-monetary terms were worked out, and that the total amount could be reduced if not enough government plaintiffs sign on, according to Reuters.

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