Drugmaker Teva latest to settle opioid lawsuits nationally

By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press

Drugmaker Teva has announced an agreement to settle lawsuits over the allegations that it helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. The deal calls for the Israel-based company to pay more than $4.3 billion to state and local governments and Native American tribes over 13 years. The total includes settlements the company has already reached with individual states and providing at no charge a drug that reverses overdoses. The company was found liable last year in a trial involving claims in New York state; that will still head to a damages phase unless a separate deal is reached on those claims.