State attorneys in Florida say pharmacy chain Walgreens ignored red flags that signaled the pharmacies were contributing to the opioid crisis. Walgreens stores in the Tampa area had abnormally high numbers of opioid prescriptions and pills distributed, prosecutors say. Walgreens attorneys say the company was misled by pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma about the potency of the drugs.
Pennsylvania will receive more than $450 million from two of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical chains as part of a multistate settlement related to their roles in the opioid crisis.
Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania attorney general and governor-elect, on Monday announced finalized agreements with CVS and Walgreens following a multistate investigation, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports. Negotiations also involved attorneys generals from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas.
CVS agreed to pay $5 billion and Walgreens will pay $5.7 billion, putting the total settlement at $10.7 billion. Pennsylvania can expect to see about $217 million over the next 10 years from CVS and about $236 million over the next 15 years from Walgreens.
The settlement brings the national amount from multistate investigations and litigation against the pharmaceutical industry — manufacturers and distributors — for its role in the opioid crisis to more than $54.1 billion.
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Read more about the multistate settlement at PBJ.com.
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