© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Johnson & Johnson logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 29, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
By Dietrich Knauth
(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) said on Monday it had agreed to pay $99 million to settle opioid-related claims by the state of West Virginia and its sub-divisions, removing the company from an ongoing trial that began earlier this month.
West Virginia is still pursuing claims against Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:)’s Allergan (NYSE:) in the Kanawha County Circuit Court trial for allegdly fueling the addiction crisis in the state.
J&J did not admit liability or wrongdoing in the settlement, the company said.
J&J finalized a nationwide $5 billion opioid settlement in February, which largely resolved state and local government opioid lawsuits against the company.
West Virginia was one of five states that did not join the $5 billion settlement at that time. It would have received about $53 million if it had joined the agreement.
West Virginia has been hit particularly hard by the U.S. opioid crisis, which has caused 500,000 overdose deaths over the past two decades. In 2020, it had an overdose death rate of more than three times the national average, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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