Specialist
Former SVP at Teva Pharmaceutical
Agenda
- Opioid litigation update and major defendants’ framework for a global settlement
- Key players impacted such as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Endo International (NASDAQ: ENDP), Abbvie (NYSE: ABBV) and Teva (NYSE: TEVA), discussing Teva’s decision not to settle in New York case
- Relative liability among the manufacturers, wholesalers and retail chain pharmacies
- Lawsuit by local governments in California in favour of opioid makers and impacts on future cases
- Outlook for 2022 and beyond, including estimated settlement values
Questions
1.
Could you give an overview of recent developments in the ongoing US opioid litigations?
2.
You outlined various impacts of coronavirus in our previous Interview [see Opioid Litigation & Generic Price Fixing Update – 19 June 2020], including that it could accelerate settlements. How has this dynamic played out? Could you outline any positive or negative impacts of the pandemic on the defendants’ position?
3.
Could you quantify the potential liability for the pharmaceutical companies, distributors, manufacturers and now pharmacies? How do you assess the roles they’ve played in the opioid epidemic?
4.
Could you elaborate on why the pharmacy defendants may have a strong case on appeal?
5.
Could you discuss developments in the New York trial? As you mentioned, it recently concluded, and I understand that Abbvie, formerly Allergan, has agreed to pay USD 200m to resolve the case, following Johnson & Johnson’s USD 230m settlement from June and Endo’s USD 50m settlement from September, leaving Teva as the sole defendant in the case. What are the main risks of this situation for Teva?
6.
What’s your take on the ability of a weaker-credit name such as Teva to settle claims outside of bankruptcy, vs bankruptcy forcing everyone to the table and bringing finality to claims?
7.
Could you elaborate on the USD 26bn proposed settlement from J&J, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health? What are the next steps here?
8.
Purdue Pharma’s long battle over its part in fuelling the opioid epidemic has been dissolved in a settlement that requires the Sackler family to pay USD 4.5bn in exchange for protection on all civil opioid claims. How significant is this development given the controversy around it? Was this the outcome you expected?
9.
What are the next paces and timelines within the opioid litigations? What should we monitor?
10.
Is there anything else we should touch on around the pharmacy chains? What tone or precedent could the Ohio case set for other US cities and governments that want to hold those players accountable?
11.
Do you have any closing thoughts on the litigations?
