West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey Wednesday announced a $161.5 million settlement with drug manufacturers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Teva) and Allergan over their involvement in the state’s opioid epidemic.

The cash value of this settlement alone is “the highest per capita settlement in the nation” according to the announcement. A civil trial between the Attorney Generals office and the companies commenced in April where the State “alleged the manufacturers helped fuel the opioid epidemic in West Virginia by engaging in strategic campaigns to deceive prescribers and misrepresent the risks and benefits of opioid painkillers.” The trial lasted six weeks in which “the State presented 54 witnesses and approximately 630 documents[.]”

The Attorney General’s 2019 lawsuit against Teva and Allergan alleged “misconduct, mischaracterized and failed to disclose the serious risk of addiction, overstated the benefits of chronic opioid therapy and promoted higher dosage amounts without disclosing inherently greater risks.”

The West Virginia AG’s Office stated the overall amount secured thus far from opioid manufacturers and related parties is: 

• McKinsey                      $10,000,000
• Endo                             $26,000,000
• Johnson & Johnson      $99,000,000
• Teva, Allergan               $161,531,000

In total these amounts add up to $296,531,000.