County may see monetary benefits of opioid settlements
In this Friday, May 21, 2021, file photo, New York Attorney General Letitia James addresses a news conference at her office, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
NORWICH - Chenango County is likely to see financial perks of legal settlements against several giant drug companies over their roles in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic.
According to the county attorney, county legislators can expect to see settlement money hit Chenango as New York State reaches massive legal agreements in its ongoing opioid trial, currently underway in Suffolk County State Supreme Court.
In July, NYS Attorney General Letitia James announced the state reached a $1.1 billion agreement with three of the nation’s largest drug companies - McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation - to combat the opioid epidemic. The settlement resolves claims made by the state for the three companies’ role in helping to fuel the opioid epidemic and will remove the three distributors from New York’s pending opioid trial.
“They’re trying one of the big cases against the pharmaceutical companies,” said Chenango County Attorney Alan Gordon. “There are settlements on the horizon. We are going to get money out of it, it appears. How much is up in the air. I can tell you that all the negotiations will require that money to be spent on treatment. It won’t be free money.”
Gordon’s been in regular contact with the county’s attained counsel on opioid lawsuits. He said county officials may know for certain by the end of the year whether it gets financial gain from state settlements, and how much.
Ruth Roberts, director of Chenango County Community Mental Hygiene Service, warned that despite large settlements, it may not amount to a whole lot for Chenango after funds are spread out across the state.
“My question is, if funding dollars are coming to us or are available for us to apply for, what are the parameters?” she said during a recent meeting of the county’s Health and Human Services Committee. “And how could we use those dollars within the established parameters?”
In March 2019, the state attorney general’s office filed an extensive lawsuit to hold manufacturers, distributors, and affiliates accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic. The manufacturers named in the complaint included Purdue Pharma; Janssen Pharmaceuticals (including its parent company Johnson and Johnson); Mallinckrodt; Endo Health Solutions; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA; and Allergan Finance. Distributors named on the complaint were McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, and Rochester Drug Cooperative.
The complaint was filed amidst a significant resurgence in opioid-related deaths, with a record 81,230 fatal overdoses between May 2019 and May 2020, according to the CDC.
Since the complaint was filed, Mallinckrodt and Rochester Drug Cooperative have moved separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The case against Purdue and is also moving through U.S. Bankruptcy Court; but earlier this month, states, including New York, approved an agreement that would force the Sacklers (owners of Purdue) to pay more than $4.5 billion for opioid abatement, shut down Purdue, and ban the Sacklers from selling opioids again.
The trial against the three remaining defendants - Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, and Allergan Finance - will continue in state court.
According to the county attorney, county legislators can expect to see settlement money hit Chenango as New York State reaches massive legal agreements in its ongoing opioid trial, currently underway in Suffolk County State Supreme Court.
In July, NYS Attorney General Letitia James announced the state reached a $1.1 billion agreement with three of the nation’s largest drug companies - McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation - to combat the opioid epidemic. The settlement resolves claims made by the state for the three companies’ role in helping to fuel the opioid epidemic and will remove the three distributors from New York’s pending opioid trial.
“They’re trying one of the big cases against the pharmaceutical companies,” said Chenango County Attorney Alan Gordon. “There are settlements on the horizon. We are going to get money out of it, it appears. How much is up in the air. I can tell you that all the negotiations will require that money to be spent on treatment. It won’t be free money.”
Gordon’s been in regular contact with the county’s attained counsel on opioid lawsuits. He said county officials may know for certain by the end of the year whether it gets financial gain from state settlements, and how much.
Ruth Roberts, director of Chenango County Community Mental Hygiene Service, warned that despite large settlements, it may not amount to a whole lot for Chenango after funds are spread out across the state.
“My question is, if funding dollars are coming to us or are available for us to apply for, what are the parameters?” she said during a recent meeting of the county’s Health and Human Services Committee. “And how could we use those dollars within the established parameters?”
In March 2019, the state attorney general’s office filed an extensive lawsuit to hold manufacturers, distributors, and affiliates accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic. The manufacturers named in the complaint included Purdue Pharma; Janssen Pharmaceuticals (including its parent company Johnson and Johnson); Mallinckrodt; Endo Health Solutions; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA; and Allergan Finance. Distributors named on the complaint were McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, and Rochester Drug Cooperative.
The complaint was filed amidst a significant resurgence in opioid-related deaths, with a record 81,230 fatal overdoses between May 2019 and May 2020, according to the CDC.
Since the complaint was filed, Mallinckrodt and Rochester Drug Cooperative have moved separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The case against Purdue and is also moving through U.S. Bankruptcy Court; but earlier this month, states, including New York, approved an agreement that would force the Sacklers (owners of Purdue) to pay more than $4.5 billion for opioid abatement, shut down Purdue, and ban the Sacklers from selling opioids again.
The trial against the three remaining defendants - Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, and Allergan Finance - will continue in state court.
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