By Dietrich Knauth

(Reuters) – Monday’s settlements by Rhode Island’s Attorney General against drugmakers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and AbbVie’s Allergan unit were valued at $107 Million. These are in response to claims that they contributed to the opioid epidemic.

Attorney General Peter Neronha stated that the settlements included $28.5 million cash and Rhode Island delivery of anti-overdose treatment treatments. This includes 1 million Naloxone sprays, 67,000 Suboxone pills bottles, over a period of 10 years.

Neronha explained that, while money cannot undo Rhode Islanders’ pain from the ongoing opioid crisis, the additional funds can help public health respond to these challenges.

Teva Israel, which is based in Israel, called Teva’s settlement “a significant step forward in delivering life-saving treatment to people who really need it.” According to Teva, it said it continues to “actively” negotiate a national agreement regarding its participation in the U.S. Opioid epidemic.

AbbVie acquired Allergan in 2020. They did not respond immediately to our request for comment.

Just as Rhode Island prepared to bring Teva to court, the settlement was also reached. The jury selection process began last week and the opening arguments are scheduled to start on Monday.

One of the more than 3300 lawsuits filed across the country by Native American Tribal governments, state and local governments, is from Rhode Island. It accuses the drugmakers in the United States of trying to minimize the risks associated with the use of opioid painkillers.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 500,000 have been killed by opioid overdoses during the last two decades.

Teva reached an opioid settlement worth $225 million with Texas recently and is trying to reach a national settlement for its opioid liabilities.

Kare Schultz (CEO of Teva) stated that the company is likely to pay between $2.7 billion and $3.6 billion in order to settle opioid claims.

The Rhode Island case involved other defendants, such as the U.S.’s largest drug distributor McKesson Corp (NYSE :), AmerisourceBergen Corp (NYSE 🙂 and Cardinal Health Inc (NYSE:) was part of a $21 Billion settlement nationwide.