Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ:TEVA) has agreed to pay the state of Nevada $193 million to settle claims that its marketing efforts helped fuel opioid addiction, the state announced Wednesday.
Nevada was one of just two states not part of the $4.35 billion national settlement with the Israel-based company in 2022. The other, New Mexico, has also since settled.
The crux of the cases was allegations that Teva and other drugmakers downplayed the addictive properties of opioid painkillers.
In addition to generic opioids, Teva sells the fentanyl-based drugs Actiq and Fentora used to treat breakthrough cancer pain.
"The money coming into Nevada from these settlements will help our state recover and will help resources flow to the Nevadans impacted by this epidemic," Nevada attorney general Aaron Ford said in a statement.
The money will be paid out in installments from 2024 to 2043, and it will be used to address the opioid addiction crisis, according to state law requirements.
Teva certainly isn’t alone. Suits against drug distributors and pharmaceutical companies have led to more than $50 billion in total settlements, including $849 million received by the state of Nevada, according to Ford.
Drug overdoses killed more than 500,000 people from 1999 to 2020, and overdose deaths have risen in the years since, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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