A lead negotiator in Texas' ongoing opioid multidistrict litigation (MDL), along with a committee of trial lawyers and the Office of the Texas Attorney General, has reached a $1.8 billion settlement for Texas.
As per the agreement, the local governments and the State of Texas will get a 1.775 billion cash award. The agreement also indicates funding for an intensive harm reduction program to deal with the ongoing opioid epidemic. The defendants are also required to pay an additional $75 million for the distribution of NARCAN® Nasal Spray, a life-saving drug that reverses the effect of an opioid overdose when administered in time.
Several drug companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Endo Pharmaceuticals, McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Teva Pharmaceuticals and AmerisourceBergen, who have been involved in the opioid supply chain, executed the settlements. Some of the settlements have already been executed, and others will be paid as per the agreed schedule. The money from the settlement would be used in to fund opioid-related issues.
15% of the funds would be allotted to individual cities and counties throughout Texas another 15% would go to the state of Texas. 70% of the settlement amount would be transferred to an abatement fund that is distributed through grant approval by the Texas Opioid Council and managed by the Texas State Comptroller's Office.
The negotiator in the settlement said that the Texans who are affected due to the opioid crisis would get immense help from the funds. It has even rightly punished the drug companies for their careless marketing and sales of the opioids that crated havoc in the state.
