By Lacie Pierson, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state of West Virginia has reached a $161 million settlement with two pharmaceutical manufacturers, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Wednesday.
Instead of presenting closing arguments in the Kanawha County Courthouse Wednesday morning, Morrisey told Mercer Circuit Judge Derek Swope his office reached an agreement “late last night” with Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. and a group of companies owned by Allergan Finance.
The parties still have to work out more detailed terms of the settlement, so the case isn’t completely closed, pending Swope’s approval of the settlement. Morrisey said he believed the settlement is the largest “state-negotiated settlement in the state’s history.”
“It’s been a long trial and, as we have said from the very beginning, we are looking for accountability,” Morrisey said in a news release Wednesday. “This settlement, along with other settlements we will receive from other cases, will provide significant help to those affected the most by the opioid crisis in West Virginia.” …
