CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state’s trial against opioid manufacturers Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan Finance LLC for their roles in the opioid epidemic ended Wednesday with an out of court settlement totaling $161.5 million.
State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced the settlement to Mercer County Circuit Judge Derek Swope at the beginning of trial Wednesday morning, just before closing arguments were set to start.
Morrisey later detailed the terms at a news conference at this office.
The lawsuit alleged the opioid manufacturers violated state law when they used marketing strategies to over-supply West Virginia with their products which allegedly helped fuel the opioid epidemic. Specifically the state alleged the companies “concealed misconduct, mischaracterized and failed to disclose the serious risk of addiction, overstated the benefits of chronic opioid therapy and promoted higher dosage amounts without disclosing inherently greater risks.”
Morrisey said settlement negotiations were ongoing with the manufacturers at the same time the trial was taking place.
“It’s always been the correct strategy. We took a lot of risks by doing the absolute right thing and it’s paying off for West Virginia,” Morrisey said.
The state produced 54 witnesses and 630 documents over six weeks. Morrisey said the trial got the ravages of the opioid epidemic on the record.
“People need to understand the depths of this epidemic and how it affected victims, West Virginia families, people whose lives were lost, families torn apart,” he said.
When asked Wednesday if Teva and Allergan admitted guilt–Morrisey said the settlement amount speaks for itself.
“I think the $161.5 million settlement is a very strong signal of what we believed and everyone believed occurred in the state of West Virginia and that represents accountability,” Morrisey said.
The state’s opioid trial against manufacturers Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan Finance LLC has reached a settlement totaling $161.5 million. @MorriseyWV discusses this announcement with @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/6knOnDTCbX
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) May 25, 2022
According to the terms of the settlement, the state will receive $134.5 million over the length of the agreement to be distributed to cities and counties who have signed on as part of the West Virginia First distribution program. Morrisey said 51 of 55 counties have agreed to be part of the program.
The other $27 million of the settlement will be paid by Teva in shipments of the overdose reversing drug of Narcan to the state.
Morrisey said the state has also protected itself in case Teva and Allergan are part of a national settlement.
“If they reach a national settlement that’s much bigger than expected West Virginia won’t end up losing,” Morrisey said. “What we’ve done is, no matter what happens, West Virginia will get at least 2.25% of the total national settlement.”
The state settled out of court for $99 million last month with a third defendant, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutical.
West Virginia remains involved with several other opioid epidemic cases. A trial against pharmacies is scheduled for this fall. Morrisey urged the defendants to learn from the trial against Teva and Allergan.
“We have a really good team. We’re correct on the law. We’re going to keep fighting for our people and we’re going to hold out,” Morrisey said. “I’m hopeful that a lot of the remaining parties see that and we can move swiftly and resolve all of this litigation.”
Morrisey said the state has now taken in a total of $296.5 million in lawsuits against opioid manufacturers including:
McKinsey $10,000,000
Endo $26,000,000
Johnson & Johnson $99,000,000
Teva, Allergan $161,531,000