Opioid manufacturer Teva has preliminarily agreed to pay $4.2 billion to Pennsylvania and a coalition of other states and municipalities after what officials called deceptive marketing practices that drastically downplayed the risk of addiction.
More insidiously, Teva broadly encouraged the notion that signs of addiction in patients were really "pseudo-addiction," Shapiro's office said, a condition which they claimed should be treated by taking even opioids.
Pennsylvania Attorney Josh Shapiro, who led a coalition of states in the settlement, said that Teva also overstated the benefits of their drugs to doctors, and that their actions played a major role in the opioid epidemic.
"Today's settlement ensures Teva will pay for its irresponsible actions, with funds going directly to communities in Pennsylvania most impacted by the opioid epidemic," Shapiro said.
In addition to paying $4.2 billion in cash to states over the next 13 years, Teva will also provide $1.2 billion in naloxone, the overdose reversal drug, over the next 10 years. States have the option of selecting cash instead of naloxone.
The settlement is not yet final, as Teva must comply with transparency requirements and changes to its business practices first.
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Teva, whose North American headquarters is based in North Wales in Montgomery County, has faced lawsuits from cities and states around the country for years now. Philadelphia filed suit in 2018 over similar claims of deceptive marketing practices. San Francisco recently settled on a separate $54 million suit.
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