North Carolina’s local governments will receive approximately $1.3 billion from national opioid settlements, following a new agreement announced Monday between Pennsylvania-based pharmaceutical firm Mylan and 15 states. The latest deal, valued at up to $335 million, includes as much as $9 million for North Carolina to be paid over the next nine years.
Mylan, now a part of Viatris after merging with Pfizer’s Upjohn division, did not admit to any wrongdoing under the settlement terms. The agreement adds to North Carolina’s growing total of opioid litigation wins, which now stands at roughly $1.6 billion.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson stated that Mylan had misled the public for years about the addictive nature of its products. The company manufactures generic opioid medications, including fentanyl patches, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and buprenorphine. Jackson accused Mylan of worsening the opioid and fentanyl crises and contributing to thousands of deaths across the state.
The suit originated during the tenure of former Attorney General Josh Stein, now North Carolina’s governor. Stein led the charge in the early legal efforts that have brought substantial funding to the state to combat the opioid epidemic.
Local jurisdictions will receive direct funding from these settlements and are required to use the money for opioid abatement. How counties and cities allocate and spend their funds is monitored through the Community Opioid Resources Engine for North Carolina (CORE-NC), a transparency initiative aimed at ensuring settlement funds are used effectively to address addiction, treatment, and prevention.
This most recent settlement continues a broader trend of pharmaceutical companies reaching financial agreements with states rather than contesting liability in court. North Carolina has been among the more aggressive states in pursuing accountability for the role drugmakers played in fueling the opioid crisis.
