On Monday, February 14, 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a $225 million settlement with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Teva), resolving claims that the company helped fuel the opioid epidemic in Texas by improperly marketing addictive pain medications.
Under the settlement, Teva will pay $150 million over the course of 15 years and provide $75 million worth of the generic Narcan, a medicine used to reverse the effects of illegal street drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, as well as most prescription opioid pain relievers. Of the $150 million, $50 million is to be paid within 15 days of execution of the settlement with the balance paid annually through $5,000,000 payments on or before January 31 of each year in 2023 through 2033 and $15,000,000 paid annually from 2034 through 2036. As is typical, Teva did not admit any liability or wrongdoing in the settlement.
Kåre Schultz, Teva’s chief executive, in a statement said it “remains in the best interest of Teva to put these cases behind us and continue to focus on the patients we serve every day.”
“This agreement is not only another win for Texas, but a major step in the right direction to help people overcome opioid addiction,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Pharmaceutical companies must be held accountable for their role in this devastating epidemic. These resources will be used to fund recovery initiatives that will help countless Texans.”
This settlement represents the fourth statewide opioid settlement Paxton has finalized for Texas, bringing the total amount settled more than $618 million from Teva, Endo, Johnson & Johnson, and McKinsey.
Other Lawsuits
This settlement represents the largest settlement Teva has agreed to in the thousands of lawsuits it is facing for its role in the opioid abuse epidemic. Prior settlements include agreements with Oklahoma ($85 million) and Louisiana ($18 million).
In 2019, Teva offered to donate $23 billion in opioid addiction treatment drugs and pay a total of $250 million over the course of ten years. While attorneys general from four states (including Texas) helped negotiate that proposal, no nationwide settlement was ever reached after plaintiffs’ lawyers questioned the true value of the drugs offered by Teva.
In November 2021, a judge in California found that Teva (along with three other drug manufacturers) could not be held responsible for causing the epidemic in several larger counties in the state. However, in December 2021, the state of New York and two counties did find Teva liable over claims that it engaged in misleading marketing practices that contributed to the New York opioid epidemic.