Hundreds of Native American tribes are set to receive $665 million from four major pharmaceutical groups, after several settlements ending their lawsuits.
The distributors, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health, had already struck a separate deal with the Cherokee Tribe in September for $75 million. On Tuesday, they also agreed to pay $440 million over seven years to other Native American tribes.
The pharmaceutical group Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay 150 million dollars over two years to these tribes.
A salvo of litigation in the United States
The opiate crisis has triggered a flurry of litigation in the United States, emanating from direct victims and numerous communities (cities, counties, states, etc.).
Native American tribes, particularly affected, for example suffered in 2015 from the highest rate of death by overdose per inhabitant. They also experienced, from 1999 to 2015, the largest percentage increase in the number of such deaths compared to other racial and ethnic groups.