pharmaceutical companies to pay $590 million to Native Americans

Native American tribes were particularly affected. The pharmaceutical group Johnson & Johnson and three major American drug distributors have agreed to pay them 590 million dollars (523 million euros) to settle the lawsuits linked to the opiate crisis, according to an agreement filed on Tuesday 1^is February, in court.

This sum is in addition to the separate agreement reached by the three distributors, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health, with the Cherokee Tribe in September for $75 million.

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The opiate crisis, at the origin of more than 500,000 deaths by overdose in twenty years in the United States, triggered a salvo of litigation in the country emanating from direct victims and many communities (cities, counties, States, etc.) . Native American tribes in particular suffered from the highest rate of opiate overdoses per capita, the agreement recalls.

The document states:

“Because of this, tribal governments across the United States have had to spend vast sums to cover the costs of the opioid crisis, including higher costs for health care, social services, life protection , law enforcement. »

All tribes affected by the agreement

All tribes recognized by the US government, 574 in total, will be able to participate in the agreement, even if they have not taken legal action, the document points out.

In the summer of 2021, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson and Johnson & Johnson had agreed to pay $26 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits as part of a settlement.

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Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday that the $150 million the company agreed to pay over two years as part of the settlement with Native American tribes would be withdrawn from the larger deal. The group also pointed out that the latter was not “an admission of liability or wrongdoing”. The company “will continue to defend once morest any litigation that the final agreement will not resolve”, Johnson & Johnson added in a post.

Asked by Agence France-Presse, the other companies did not immediately specify whether the 440 million they had agreed to pay collectively to the Native American tribes over seven years were part of the 26 billion agreement.

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The World with AFP