Pharmacy chains ordered to pay ~$650M to Ohio counties for opioid damages - Reuters
Aug. 17, 2022 12:29 PM ETWalgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA), WMT, CVSBy: Anuron Mitra, SA News Editor56 Comments
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- A federal judge in Ohio has ordered CVS (NYSE:CVS), Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA), which operate pharmacies, to pay a combined $650.6M to two counties for the damage done by the opioid crisis, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
- The order was by U.S. Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland, according to the report.
- The order comes after a trial in Nov. 2021 which found that the pharmacy operators had helped fuel an opioid epidemic in the counties, Reuters said.
- Earlier in the day, generic drugmaker Endo International (ENDP), which has been embroiled in lawsuits worth billions related to its alleged role in the opioid crisis, filed for bankruptcy.
- Earlier this month, drug distributors, McKesson (MCK), AmerisourceBergen (ABC), and Cardinal Health (CAH), reached a $400M settlement with West Virginia's cities and counties over their role in the opioid crisis.
- CVS stock -0.9%, WMT +0.3%, WBA -2.6% in mid-day trading.