epidemic News

Tennessee Sues Walgreens Pharmacy Chain over Opioid Distribution

The state of Tennessee sued Walgreens on Wednesday, accusing the retail pharmacy giant of fueling the state’s opioid epidemic by willfully flooding the market with an oversupply of prescription narcotics in violation of consumer protection and public nuisance laws. According …

San Francisco Reaches $58M Opioid Settlement with Teva, Allergan

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and AbbVie’s Allergan unit on Tuesday reached a $58 million settlement with the city of San Francisco just before completion of a trial over claims that they fueled an opioid epidemic in the city. Under the deal …

California Judge Questions Counties’ Opioid Case Against Drugmakers at Trial’s End

A California judge on Thursday said several large counties accusing four drugmakers of fueling an opioid epidemic had presented a “dearth of evidence” during a multi-billion dollar trial to support finding the companies’ pain pill marketing caused the health crisis. …

Judge Urges Talks Between Purdue Pharma and Holdout States

A federal bankruptcy judge on Friday urged states that oppose a settlement plan with Purdue Pharma to try to work out differences with the OxyContin maker before he issues a ruling next week. During a videoconference hearing, Judge Robert Drain …

Economist: $2.5B to Abate Opioid Crisis in WVa Community

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — A 15-year plan to abate the opioid crisis in a West Virginia community will cost local officials $2.5 billion, a forensic economist has testified. George Barrett testified Tuesday that Cabell County and the city of Huntington …

McKinsey Targeted by School Districts Over Opioid-Related Costs

McKinsey & Co. faces Kentucky and West Virginia school districts’ lawsuits alleging the company’s work for opioid makers fed an epidemic that harmed children and drove up educational costs, in the first such cases by educators against the consulting firm. …

Opioid Distributors Sold ‘Mountain of Pills,’ Lawyer Tells Judge

The biggest drug distributors in the U.S. were accused of swamping a West Virginia county with millions of doses of painkillers as testimony is set to begin in the first trial over the companies’ role in the opioid crisis. McKesson …

J&J, Other Drugmakers Go to Trial in California in $50B Case Over ‘Deadly Legacy’ of Opioids

Four drugmakers helped cause the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing their drugs and downplaying their addictive risks, a lawyer for several California counties argued on Monday at the start of a multibillion-dollar trial. Those counties accuse Johnson & …

Sacklers Boost Opioid Settlement Offer to $4.3 Billion – Sources

NEW YORK — Members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma LP have offered roughly $4.3 billion to resolve sprawling opioid litigation, up from $3 billion initially proposed in settlement discussions underway in the OxyContin maker’s bankruptcy proceedings, four …

No Money For Masterpieces: Louvre Bans Cash Over Virus Fears

PARIS — The Louvre is no longer taking cash, because of the coronavirus outbreak. The world’s most-visited museum is shifting to card-only payments as part of new measures that helped persuade employees worried about getting sick to return to work …