Below is a timeline of opioid settlements that have been reached since January, reported by Becker's Hospital Review. The timeline doesn't include opioid settlements that are still pending or have been agreed to in principle, including a proposed settlement from Purdue Pharma and a global settlement from several drug distributors.
March 26: Purdue Pharma agrees to pay $270 million to Oklahoma to resolve claims it fueled the opioid crisis in the state. The lawsuit claimed Purdue Pharma misled physicians and patients about the risks associated with the painkillers, which played a significant role in the nationwide epidemic.
May 3: McKesson agrees to pay $37 million to West Virginia to settle claims it fueled the opioid crisis in the state. The lawsuit claims McKesson failed to appropriately monitor the distribution of opioid painkillers to pharmacies in the state, which hurt West Virginia's vulnerable populations.
May 28: Morris & Dickson, a drug distributor based in Shreveport, La., agrees to pay $22 million to settle allegations that it failed to report thousands of suspicious opioid orders.
May 28: Teva Pharmaceuticals agrees to pay $85 million to Oklahoma to settle claims it fueled the opioid epidemic with deceptive marketing practices.
June 6: Insys Therapeutics agrees to pay $225 million to settle claims it illegally marketed an addictive fentanyl painkiller used to treat pain in cancer patients.
July 11: Reckitt Benckiser Group, a U.K. consumer goods company, agrees to pay $1.4 billion to settle claims it profited by deceiving healthcare providers about the safety of its opioid-addiction treatment, Suboxone. It becomes the largest financial penalty tied to the opioid crisis.
August 20: Endo agrees to pay $11 million to two Ohio counties to avoid the federal opioid trial. Endo still faces lawsuits from hundreds of other cities, counties and states.
September 4: Allergan agrees to pay $5 million to two Ohio counties to avoid the federal opioid trial.
September 9: Mallinckrodt agrees in principle to a $30 million settlement, which was finalized on Sept. 30. The settlement allows the drugmaker to avoid the bellwether federal opioid trial.
October 2: Johnson & Johnson agrees to pay $20.4 million to two Ohio counties to avoid the federal opioid trial. It's the first time J&J agrees to an opioid-related settlement.
October 21: McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and Teva reach a last-minute settlement worth around $260 million to avoid the bellwether federal opioid trial that was to begin later that day.