A New Jersey pharmaceutical company and its affiliates will pay Schuyler County up to $38,000 to settle claims it contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis in that county, under a resolution approved by the Schuyler County Legislature.
The legislature voted this week to accept the settlement and authorized Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman to execute the necessary legal documents.
According to the resolution, Sandoz, Inc. and several related entities (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novartis AG, Sandoz International GmbH, Novartis Manufacturing LLC, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Inc., Novartis Corporation, and Novartis Consumer Health), agreed to the settlement with the county in exchange for being released from a pending lawsuit filed by the county, as well as claims brought by other participating local governments nationwide.
The agreement calls for a one-time payment to be issued in 2026 and the funds are to be used solely for opioid remediation and abatement, Getman said.
According to Getman, the funds can be used for a variety of purposes.
“Potential uses may include supporting police and first responders, treating opioid addiction, funding social services and similar anti-drug efforts,” Getman explained.
The motion authorizing Getman to accept the settlement was made by County Legislator Phil Barnes (R-District VI) and seconded by Legislator Mark Rondinaro (R-District VII).
The Sandoz agreement is the latest opioid settlement Schuyler County has been a part of in the past seven years. In 2021, the county legislature authorized Getman to accept up to $121,000 from Johnson & Johnson and up to $546,000 from distributors McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc. and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation to treat, reduce and prevent opioid use through a court settlement with the opioid maker. A similar agreement, for $41,000, was obtained from defendant Actavis, Inc. in early 2022. In 2023, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and its subsidiaries agreed to a settlement with the county that resulted in payments up to $116,000 to settle claims that company contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis.
The settlements stem from a 2018 lawsuit the county filed against approximately thirty defendants, including some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry. The lawsuit alleged the defendants had long known that opioids were addictive and subject to abuse, particularly when used long-term for chronic non-cancer pain, and should not be used except as a last resort. However, the lawsuit stated, the defendants spent hundreds of millions of dollars disseminating scientific materials and advertising that misrepresented the risks of opioids’ long-term use. In 2023, the county filed an amended complaint to include in the action supplemental defendants and causes of action.
Schuyler County was one of many local governments that filed lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid pain killers. At least 14 counties across New York sued the pharmaceutical companies for fraudulent marketing practices.
Schuyler County’s lawsuit against other defendants remains pending, Getman said, with the possibility of more settlements and additional funding to the county still to come.
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