City of Baltimore Reaches $45 Million Settlement with CVS over Opioid Epidemic

BALTIMORE – The City of Baltimore has reached a $45 million settlement with CVS for driving “the worst opioid epidemic in the nation,” according to an announcement made by Mayor Brandon Scott.

“These companies targeted Baltimore and decided profits were more important than the health and safety of the people of this City,” Scott said. “We are fully committed to ensuring that these companies pay their fair share to repair the damage they’ve done to our neighborhoods and families. We have said from the start that we will not sell the people of Baltimore short and will do everything in our power to obtain the resources we need to meaningfully address this epidemic.”

CVS will pay the entire $45 million settlement amount this year, the city said. The City’s deal with CVS is the second settlement announced related to its opioid litigation, following a $45 million settlement with Allergan earlier this summer. 

The city said CVS placed opiods and hydrocodone in Baltimore pharmacies during eight years, from 2006-2014. 

Additional defendants in the lawsuit include AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Walgreens. The trial begins Sept. 16.

Of the funds secured from CVS, the City has committed to using $5 million for the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program, $5 million for Healing City Baltimore, $1 million for Roberta’s House, and $1 million for From Prison Cells to PhD.

The case is Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., 24-C-18-000515 in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City.

Sara Whaley, the Program Manager of the Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative at Johns Hopkins and practice faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is serving in an advisory role on the City’s use of settlement funds.

For further information on how the funds from the litigation will be used, read The Principles for the Use of Funds From the Opioid Litigation