Teva Pharmaceuticals has reached a settlement with Cuyahoga and Summit counties of Ohio to settle claims in the Opioid addiction lawsuit. Under the terms of the settlement, Teva will provide buprenorphine-naloxone (sublingual tablets), known by the brand name Suboxone®, valued at $25 million (at wholesale acquisition cost) and help in the care and treatment of people suffering from addiction. The company will also provide $20 million in cash to the two counties. Teva has also reached an agreement, in principle, with the attorneys general of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, as well as other litigants, for a mechanism to settle all other Opioid claims. The settlement stipulates that Teva will donate buprenorphine-naloxone (valued at $25 billion) over the next ten years, to treat all of the patients who have been addicted to Opioids in the United States. Although the settlement will be expensive for Teva, it is a penalty the company will be able to afford; while the alternative, i.e. a loss in court, might have bankrupted the company.
