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Walgreens settles another opioid case, this time for $285M

The drugstore giant has now reached deals in three cases over the past three months

Bill Wilson, Senior editor at Supermarket News

July 7, 2023

1 Min Read
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The settlements come at a time when Walgreens is struggling to stay afloat financially.Getty Images

Walgreens will have to pay out more money connected to its alleged role in the country’s opioid crisis, this time in Nevada where the company has agreed to pay a $285 million settlement.

Walgreens Boots Alliance will pay the amount over a 15-year span, and the settlement was the last of a series of settlements Nevada has processed during the last couple of years. This case brings the state’s opioid claim total to $1.1 billion. Just over $98 million of that money will be placed in a fund to help finance opioid recovery programs through the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Opioid settlements in the U.S. now total about $50 billion, according to Fortune

The Nevada case marks the third settlement for the Northbrook, Ill.-based company within the last three months. In May, Walgreens settled with the city of San Francisco for $230 million, and last month both Walgreens and CVS agreed to pay just over $17 billion in a multistate opioid settlement.

The settlements come at a time when Walgreens is struggling to stay afloat financially. During its Q3 financial call last week, the company said its adjusted operating income is at $3.2 billion — a drop of over 26% on a constant currency basis.

The fiscal hardship, combined with a shift in focus to a more direct involvement in patient care, has forced Walgreens to close 150 stores in the coming months. Two waves of layoffs have led to just over 900 employees being dismissed.

Related:Walgreens to lay off almost 400

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Walgreens Boots Alliance

About the Author

Bill Wilson

Senior editor at Supermarket News

Bill Wilson is the senior editor at Supermarket News, covering all things grocery and retail. He has been a journalist in the B2B industry for 25 years. He has received two Robert F. Boger awards for his work as a journalist in the infrastructure industry and has over 25 editorial awards total in his career. He graduated cum laude from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a major in broadcast communications.

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