Latest Opioids News
Attorney General Neronha has reached settlements with opioid manufacturers, distributors, and consultants advising those companies that has brought and will bring more than $285 million in cash and lifesaving medication to Rhode Island. All funds recovered through Rhode Island’s opioid settlements will be used for opioid treatment, prevention, and recovery efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.
Publicis Health Settlement
In February 2024, Attorney General Neronha announced a $1.5 million settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. Rhode Island’s settlement is part of a larger national settlement totaling $350 million.
$56 million settlement with CVS, Walmart & Walgreens
In December 2023, Attorney General Neronha announced the Office’s final step in effectuating more than $56 million in settlements with national pharmacies CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens as part of a multistate effort to hold them accountable for their role in furthering the devastating opioid epidemic in Rhode Island and across the country.
Endo national settlement
In August 2022, Attorney General Neronha announced an agreement in principle with opioid manufacturer Endo and its lenders that would provide a total of up to $450 million to participating states and local governments. Rhode Island’s share of the recovery will be determined once documents are finalized and court approvals are obtained.
$45 million settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family
In March 2022, Attorney General Neronha announced a settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family that will increase the amounts of funds paid by the Sacklers from $4.325 billion under the original plan to at least $5.5 billion, and up to $6 billion. If the agreement is approved by the bankruptcy court, Rhode Island will receive approximately $45 million, more than doubling its recovery of approximately $20 million from the initial bankruptcy plan.
$100 million+ in value settlement with Teva
In March 2022, AG Neronha announced an agreement with generic opioid manufacturer Teva totaling $21 million in cash and lifesaving medication for Rhode Island over 13 years. Rhode Island will also receive one million life-saving Naloxone sprays over the next ten years, valued at $62.5 million, as well as $16 million of the treatment drug Suboxone for a total settlement value of $100 million.
$7.5 million settlement with Allergan
In March 2022, Attorney General Neronha announced an agreement with generic opioid manufacturer Allergan, now owned by AbbVie, totaling $7.5 million for Rhode Island to be paid over six years.
$114 million+ Agreement Between State and All Cities and Towns on Sharing and Using Settlement Funds
In January 2022, Attorney General Neronha announced an agreement with all Rhode Island’s cities and towns to share and use these opioid litigation recoveries to fight the opioid crisis. The agreement provides all 39 Rhode Island cities and towns with direct funding from the settlements, while ensuring that the funds will go toward coordinated, holistic approaches to address the opioid epidemic statewide, guided by input from municipal leaders, public health experts, and community representatives. The agreement was amended in May 2022 to cover the sharing and use of additional opioid settlements.
View settlement payments to date (updated June 2023)
Settlement documents
- View Rhode Island's settlement agreements with CVS, Walgreens & Walmart Pharmacies
- View Rhode Island's settlement agreement with drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal & McKesson
- View the MOU with Rhode Island's cities and towns
- View the National Agreement with drug distributors
- View the National Agreement with Johnson & Johnson
- View a sample list of approved uses of abatement funds
Settlement media
$90 million+ settlement with opioid distributors
In January 2022, Attorney General Neronha announced an agreement with pharmaceutical distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal, and McKesson totaling $90.8 million for Rhode Island to be paid over 18 years.
View Rhode Island’s Agreement with the Distributors
View the Presentation from Attorney General Neronha’s Press Conference
$21 million+ settlement with Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
In January 2022, Attorney General Neronha announced that Rhode Island would be joining a national agreement negotiated with Janssen, an opioid manufacturer subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, totaling $21.1 million for Rhode Island to be paid over 9 years.
View the National Agreement with Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
View Janssen's payment allocations to Rhode Island (updated October 2022)
$2.5 million settlement with McKinsey & Co.
In February 2021, Attorney General Neronha announced that Rhode Island would be joining a national agreement negotiated with McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm that advised Purdue Pharma, totaling $2.5 million for Rhode Island to be paid over 5 years.
Mallinckrodt bankruptcy agreement
Mallinckrodt filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and its opioid payments to Rhode Island and other states are a result of those proceedings. For information about Mallinckrodt, please visit the public website.
Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee
The agreement between the state and the cities and towns created the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee which consists of an equal number of state and municipal representatives, as well as expert and community representatives, and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Rhode Island’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services on the statewide use of settlement funds.
View more information about the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee