Israeli Pharma Giant Teva Settles Nevada Opioid Lawsuit for $193 Million

Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has agreed to pay the state of Nevada in the United States $193 million to settle claims that its marketing practices fueled opioid addiction, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement on Wednesday. A Teva spokesperson confirmed the settlement.

Nevada and New Mexico were the only two of the 50 states that did not join a $4.35 billion nationwide settlement with Teva last year. New Mexico has also since settled.

The states and thousands of local governments accused Teva and other pharmaceutical companies of downplaying the addiction risks of opioid pain-relief drugs. Teva sells the brand-name fentanyl-based drugs Actiq and Fentora, which are used to treat breakthrough cancer pain and has sold generic opioid drugs.

The sprawling litigation over opioids has also targeted drug distributors and pharmacy chains and has resulted in more than $50 billion in total settlements.

Nevada has secured $849 million in opioid settlement money, Ford’s office said on Wednesday.

“The money coming into Nevada from these settlements will help our state recover and will help resources flow to the Nevadans impacted by this epidemic,” Ford said.

Teva’s settlement with Nevada will be paid in installments from 2024 to 2043. Like many other states, Nevada has passed a law laying out how its opioid settlement funds will be split between the state and local governments, and requiring them to use the money to address the harms of opioid addiction.

More than half a million people in the United States died from drug overdoses between 1999 and 2020, with opioids playing an outsized role. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that overdose deaths have risen further since then.