Oklahoma announces another $226 million in settlements over opioid epidemic

About 3,000 Oklahomans died opioid overdoses between 2016 and 2020

Opioid epidemic was made 'much worse' during pandemic: Narcan inventor

Dr. Roger Crystal, CEO of Opiant Pharmaceuticals and inventor of Narcan, says the best way to combat the opioid epidemic is to reduce demand and previews a new opioid rescue medicine.

Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor announced new settlements totaling $226.1 million with three pharmacy chains and a drug manufacturer over the opioid epidemic on Wednesday, bringing the total recoveries in the state to nearly $1 billion.


"The opioid crisis has inflicted unspeakable pain on Oklahoma families and caused the deaths of thousands of Oklahomans," O'Connor said in a statement. "As with prior opioid settlement funds, Oklahoma’s recoveries must be used to abate and treat opioid addictions and to save lives across our state."

About 3,000 Oklahomans died from opioid overdoses between 2016 and 2020, according to O'Connor.

 

Tablets of the opioid-based Hydrocodone at a pharmacy in Portsmouth, Ohio, June 21, 2017. (REUTERS/Bryan Woolston/File Photo / Reuters)

Oklahoma was the first state to reach a settlement with OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma for $270 million in 2019.

DRUG DISTRIBUTOR CONTRIBUTED TO OPIOID CRISIS BY IGNORING SIGNS OF ABUSE, FEDS SAY

The latest wave of settlements includes $79.5 million from Walgreens, $73 million from CVS, $41 million from Walmart, and $32.6 million from the opioid manufacturer Allergan.

It's a small part of the nearly $50 billion in settlements that state and local governments have reached with pharmacy chains, drug distributors, and manufacturers in recent years.

 



A Walmart spokesperson noted that the company reached a nationwide deal to pay about $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits.

Walgreens did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, but the company announced a similar deal last year to pay about $5 billion to settle lawsuits.

CVS also reached a deal to pay about $5 billion in a nationwide framework.

"We are pleased to progress to a formal agreement and move forward in the resolution of these claims that date back a decade or more," a CVS spokesperson told Fox Business on Wednesday.

Allergan did not respond to a request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.