Sawt Falasteen - Pharma giants to pay $590 mn to US Native Americans over opioids

The agreement is the latest amid a deluge of litigation spawned by the US opioid crisis, which has claimed more than 500,000 lives over the last 20 years and ensnared some of the largest firms in the world of American medicine.

The companies involved in the latest agreement include Johnson & Johnson and McKesson, according to a filing in an Ohio federal court by a committee of plaintiffs in the case.

Native Americans have "suffered some of the worst consequences of the opioid epidemic of any population in the United States," according to the filing from the Plaintiffs' Tribal Leadership Committee, which cited per-capita death rates compared with other ethnic groups.

"The burden of paying these increased costs has diverted scarce funds from other needs and has imposed severe financial burdens on the tribal plaintiffs."

Johnson & Johnson, McKesson and the other two companies in the accord -- AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health -- have previously agreed to a $26 billion global settlement on opioid cases.

J&J said Tuesday the $150 million it agreed to pay in the Native American case has been deducted from what it owes in the global settlement.

"This settlement is not an admission of any liability or wrongdoing and the company will continue to defend against any litigation that the final agreement does not resolve," the company said.

It was unclear if the other companies would take what they owe under the latest agreement from the global settlement.

- 'Measure of justice' -

Robins Kaplan, a law firm negotiating on the behalf of the plaintiffs, said in a statement the agreement must still be approved by the Native American tribes, which are pursuing other claims regarding opioids.

"This initial settlement for tribes in the national opioid litigation is a crucial first step in delivering some measure of justice to the tribes and reservation communities across the United States that have been ground zero for the opioid epidemic," Tara Sutton, an attorney at the firm who negotiated on behalf of the Native Americans.

Douglas Yankton, chairman of the North Dakota-based Spirit Lake Nation, said the money from the settlement would "help fund crucial, on-reservation, culturally appropriate opioid treatment services."

All tribes recognized by the US government, 574 in all, will be able to participate in the agreement, even if they have not filed lawsuits.

The settlement is separate from a prior agreement that resulted in $75 million in payments to the Cherokee Nation from three distribution companies, including McKesson.

Many of the lawsuits regarding the opioid crisis have centered on Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, a highly addictive prescription painkiller blamed for causing a spike in addiction.

A judge in December overturned the company's bankruptcy plan because it provided some immunity for the owners of the company in exchange for a $4.5 billion payout to victims of the opioid crisis.

The litigation wave has also swamped pharmacies owned by Walmart, Walgreens and CVS, which a jury found in November bear responsibility for the opioid crisis in two counties in Ohio.

K.Hassan--SF-PST