US pharmaceutical chains Cvs Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance e the giant of the big retailers Walmart They agreed to pay more than 13 billion dollars (13.1 billion euros) to close Thousands of lawsuits regarding the sale ruthless opioid painkillers that have caused a veritable epidemic of addiction problems and deaths. The proposed settlement — yet another for a year-long legal battle also involving drug companies — details CVS paying $4.9 billion, Walgreens about $5 billion and Walmart $3 billion. CVS confirmed the figures of the agreement adds that the payment will be made over a decade and that the company will pay an additional $130 million for the specific case of addictions affecting Native American tribes.
At the pharmacy chain Walgreens, compensation will be paid over 15 years and includes approximately $154 million for native tribes and $750 million for legal costs. Retail chain Walmart declined to comment. The agreements are preliminary and will not come into effect until they are approved by a sufficient number of states, counties and cities. The transactions are similar to those of the drug manufacturer Johnson&Johnson and the top three U.S. drug retailers in 2021, with a combined volume of $26 billion. Opioid drug addiction is believed to be responsible for the death of 500,000 people in the United States in the last 20 years. Lawsuits filed against manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies total over 4,000 and have so far raised about $30 billion, which has also been allocated for restorative treatments. Pharmacy chains have been sued for failing to set up mandatory surveillance systems for detection invalid recipes from opioids.
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McKinsey settles accounts with 47 US states: 573 million dollars for the sale of the dangerous painkiller OxyContin
Among the pharmaceutical companies most involved is the Purdue Pharma Sackle family, makers of the drug OxyContin. The company has negotiated the payment of over 8 billion dollars. to negotiate it was also the consulting firm McKinsey ($573 million) that suggested the drug company a particularly aggressive marketing strategy for selling the drug. Oxycontin is also called “Hillbilly Heroin” (heroine of mountaineers) since her abuse began in the communities Appalachia and then spread across the country. Addiction to the drug has also led to major crime problems. According to some studies, there are provinces in the country where 80% of crimes are related to Oxycontin addiction. Newborns are also among those affected. According to the American Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the number of pregnancies in women addicted to opioids has increased exponentially: In 2014, nearly 32,000 children born in the United States were experiencing opioid withdrawal symptoms. It is estimated that 130 people die every day in the United States from an overdose of these drugs, which have annual sales of almost $80 billion.
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