1 drug company announces details of USD 5M opioid settlement

The drug company Allergan says its $5 million payments divided between two Ohio counties will remove it from a trial scheduled for October on the toll of opioids there. Government officials previously announced the settlement with Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) and Summit counties. The Dublin, Ireland-based company made its first public statement about the deal on Friday.

It says Cuyahoga will get USD 3.1 million and Summit USD 1.9 million. The company said in a statement that settling made more sense than the costs of continued litigation in the first federal trial scheduled in a case in which government entities are suing the drug industry.

The company is a defendant in many of the roughly 2,000 similar claims across the US. Endo Pharmaceuticals also settled in August with the Ohio counties for USD 10 million.