Allergan agreed to pay $5 million to settle allegations that it helped fuel the national opioid crisis, according to The Wall Street Journal. The settlement allows Allergan to sidestep a potentially damaging opioid trial set to begin next month.
Under the agreement, Allergan will pay $1.9 million to Summit County, Ohio, and $3.1 million to Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The two Ohio counties were chosen to serve as bellwethers in litigation over the opioid epidemic.
Endo International reached an $11 million settlement in August with the two counties.
Allergan and Endo are two of the smaller drugmakers named as defendants in the October trial. Other drugmakers are Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson.