Four companies in the drug industry said Saturday that enough states had agreed to a settlement of lawsuits over the opioid crisis for them to move ahead with the
An announcement from the three largest
The distribution companies —
Together, the settlements are likely to represent the biggest piece of a string of settlements between companies in the drug industry and state and local governments over the addiction and overdose epidemic in the
Under the
The next step is trying to get local governments to sign on to the deal and agree not to continue their lawsuits. This phase is to last until
Saturday's milestone came days after a judge gave initial approval to a settlement worked out in bankruptcy court between OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and some 3,000 plaintiffs. That deal could be worth
In all the cases, governments have agreed to put most of their shares toward drug treatment and education programs and other measures to fight the epidemic.
This year, there have been three trials on governments' claims over opioids, though none have reached a verdict. More similar trials are queued up for this year and next.
The day of the week has been corrected to Saturday in the opening paragraph.
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