Rhode Island's attorney general announced settlements he valued at $107 million against drugmakers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and AbbVie's Allergan unit to resolve claims over their roles in fueling an opioid epidemic in the state, Reuters reported. The settlements include $28.5 million in cash, plus the delivery to Rhode Island of anti-overdose treatments - 1 million Naloxone sprays and 67,000 bottles of Suboxone pills - over 10 years. Israel-based Teva, the world's largest generic drug company, called its settlement "a critical step forward in getting life-saving treatments to the people who need them." It said it was still "actively" negotiating a national settlement. The settlement was reached just as Rhode Island was prepared to take Teva to trial. Jury selection began last week, and opening arguments were set to begin on Monday. The Rhode Island lawsuit is one of more than 3,300 filed by state, local and Native American tribal governments across the country accusing drugmakers of minimizing the addiction risks of opioid pain medications. More than 500,000 people have died due to opioid overdoses in the past two decades, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rhode Island valued Teva's contributed medicines at $78.5 million. The company reached a similar $225 million settlement recently with Texas, which included $75 million in contributed drugs.
