Four drug firms agree to pay $26bn in proposed US opioid settlement published : 22 Jul 2021 at 07:45 The opioids epidemic in the United States has caused more than 500,000 deaths in the last 20 years. NEW YORK: Prosecutors from several US states on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping proposed settlement under which four pharmaceutical companies accused of fueling the country's opioid epidemic would pay up to $26 billion to resolve thousands of claims in federal and state courts. Under the proposed agreement, three drug distributors -- McKesson, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen -- along with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, would pay to resolve some 4,000 claims as well as finance prevention and treatment programs, said New York Attorney General Letitia James.