Greenwich To Participate In 2022 National Opioid Settlements

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich Board of Selectmen last week swiftly and unanimously voted to have the town participate in recent national settlements with several notable pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy chains related to the nationwide opioid crisis.

In 2022, Teva and Allergan, along with CVS, Walgreens and Walmart agreed to settlements totaling around $19 billion.

By deciding to opt-in to the settlements, Greenwich is releasing the companies from any known legal claims, explained Assistant Town Attorney Valerie Maze Keeney.

In exchange, the town will receive money negotiated by the state of Connecticut which will be used for certain permitted opioid remediation uses.

It's unclear yet how much money Greenwich will receive, as the amount will depend on how many municipalities/states participate. Assuming maximum participation, the settlements require:

• Teva to pay $3.34 billion over 13 years and either provide $1.2 billion of its generic version of the drug Narcan over 10 years, or $240 million of cash in lieu of product.
• Allegan to pay $2.02 billion over seven years.
• CVS to pay $4.90 billion over 10 years.
• Walgreens to pay $5.52 billion over 15 years.
• Walmart to pay up to $2.74 billion in 2023, and all payments to be made within six years.

Greenwich has already received funds from the landmark 2021 $26 billion settlement with Johnson & Johnson and major pharmaceutical distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.

As part of the settlement, Greenwich is slated to receive $24,819.34 per year over the next decade-and-a-half.

Greenwich's Human Resources Commissioner Demetria Nelson and Community Development Administrator Tyler Fairbairn have developed a proposed plan for the spending of received funds in fiscal year 2024 or 2025, Keeney said.