NOT ENOUGH

West Virginia Settles Suit Against Largest U.S. Drug Distributor for $37M

Claimed McKesson Corp. failed to investigate or stop suspicious drug orders.

West Virginia settled a lawsuit Wednesday for $37 million against the largest U.S. drug distributor, which is said to have shipped nearly 100 million doses of opioids to state residents during a six-year period, The New York Times reports. The suit alleged McKesson Corp.—which reported more than $208 billion in revenue in the last fiscal year, making it the sixth-largest U.S. company in terms of earnings—siphoned enough hydrocodone and oxycodone to dole out 3,000 doses’ worth to every patient. Sen. Joe Manchin, (D-WV) called the settlement a “sweetheart deal” that “sells out” the state. “It’s pennies on the dollar to what McKesson cost our state,” he said. According to the suit, Boone County, an area in the southeastern part of the state with a population of less than 25,000, received 1.2 million doses of both drugs from 2007 to 2012. West Virginia has the nation’s highest opioid overdose rate.

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