Irish drugmakers Allergan PLC and Endo International PLC settled with two Ohio counties for $15 million to avoid an October trial in the ongoing legal battle that alleges certain drugmakers and manufacturers fueled the opioid epidemic.
Endo and its subsidiaries will pay $10 million to resolve the two cases, according to an Aug. 20 press release.
Allergan will pay $5 million to the counties to resolve its portion of the litigation, according to an Aug. 20 report by Reuters. An Allergan spokesperson did not return a request for comment as of publication.
Endo said the charges against the company arise from the manufacturing, sale and abuse of branded and generic opioid medications. The company will pay the fee and also supply the counties with $1 million worth of its medications for free. The drugs are the blood pressure medication Vasostrict and the epinephrine injection Adrenalin.
Leerink analysts called the settlement a significant positive for Endo and lowered the expected total settlement to $1.8 billion to resolve remaining suits that have cited the company. The firm had initially expected Endo to be hit with a $4 billion fee to resolve the cases.
"This validates that there is a path to settlement and raises the possibility that we see settlements by additional manufacturers heading into the October trial," Leerink said.
Endo's and Allergan's settlements are the latest such agreements to come as the October trial looms. Several drug distributors earlier in August floated a $10 billion settlement to resolve lawsuits in more than 35 states. Most of the opioid lawsuits have been consolidated in a Cleveland court.
The opioid epidemic claims as many as 100 lives in the U.S. every day.
