Wayne County Commissioners today unanimously approved a settlement of more than $35 million with a pharmaceutical company and three distributors as the county’s portion of a state settlement related to the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Under the settlement, the county will receive compensation of not more than $35,293,377, payable over the next 18 years, from opioid manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and distributors Amerisource Bergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp.
The bulk of the settlement money will be used for opioid remediation programs.
Also known as the Michigan State-Subdivision Agreement for Allocation of Distributor Settlement, the agreement alleges that the conduct of pharmaceutical entities caused or contributed to widespread opioid addiction among Michigan residents.
National settlements involving Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, as well as the three distributors, were announced in July and totaled $26 billion, with several U.S. states participating.
Opioids include a variety of commonly prescribed drugs that bring relief from pain but can also slow heart rates and breathing and lead to addiction.
Statistics provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse indicate that nearly 80 precent of drug overdose deaths in Michigan involved at least one opioid in 2018, with 2,011 deaths overall.
In addition, the institute reported that Michigan providers wrote nearly 63 opioid prescriptions for every 100 patients in that period, compared with a national average of 51.4 prescriptions.
“Opioid abuse has affected thousands of individuals and families in our state and county and they desperately need the help this settlement will provide,” Wayne County Commission Chairwoman Alisha Bell said.