Many lawyers expect Big Pharma companies to pay far less than initially expected to settle national opioid litigation, The New York Times reported.
Lawyers for the cities and states suing pharmaceutical companies told the Times that a global settlement would likely be less than half of what four Big Tobacco companies paid in 1998 to settle landmark tobacco litigation.
The tobacco settlement was for more than $206 billion to be paid over 25 years.
Joe Rice, chief negotiator for plaintiffs in the opioid case, told the Times: "People would say I was crazy if I thought we could get over $100 billion."
Analysts told the Times they expect the total to be somewhere between $75 billion and $85 billion.
Determining the financial impact of the opioid crisis is more complicated than it was to determine tobacco's impact, as opioids served a positive purpose for some patients, while tobacco did not.
Also, many of the companies targeted by the opioid lawsuits also make needed medical devices and products, so bankrupting them with a large settlement wouldn't necessarily be in the public's best interest.
Lawyers and economists told the Times that Big Pharma companies will also likely pay less than tobacco companies because prescription painkillers have killed fewer people than tobacco did.
Tobacco companies also were mostly responsible for the manufacture, marketing, distribution and product placement of cigarettes, while opioids pass through many different companies, which makes it harder to determine where to place blame, according to the Times.
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