CVS Issues Statement on Landmark Opioid Decision in Federal Court Case

CVS Issues Statement on Landmark Opioid Decision in Federal Court Case

In response to the landmark decision in federal court on Tuesday that found CVS, Walgreens and Walmart liable for contributing to the opioid epidemic, CVS has issued a statement.

Lawyers for the two Ohio counties say each of the three pharmacy giants could be liable for upwards of $1 billion each per county.

The jury's decision is the first and is an influential verdict among the many lawsuits targeting pharmacy chains. There are thousands of lawsuits from counties and states targeting companies for their role in the trillion-dollar opioid epidemic.

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RI gubernatorial candidate, Democrat Helena Foulkes was head of the CVS pharmacy for a portion of the time the lawsuit included. She has repeatedly refused to respond to questions about her role and oversight.

Mike DeAngelis, CVS Health Corporate Communications said in a statement:

We strongly disagree with the decision. Pharmacists fill legal prescriptions written by DEA-licensed doctors who prescribe legal, FDA-approved substances to treat actual patients in need.  

We’re proud of the substantial work we’ve done to support our pharmacists in detecting illegitimate prescribing. But the simple facts are that opioid prescriptions are written by doctors, not pharmacists; opioid medications are made and marketed by manufacturers, not pharmacists; and our health care system depends on pharmacists to fill legitimate prescriptions that doctors deem necessary for their patients. We look forward to the appeals court review of this case, including the misapplication of public nuisance law.

As plaintiffs’ own experts testified, many factors have contributed to the opioid abuse issue, and solving this problem will require involvement from all stakeholders in our health care system and all members of our community.