Johnson & Johnson and 3 major drug distributors to pay $590 million settlement to Native American tribes that were impacted by opioid epidemic

• Johnson & Johnson and the country's three largest drug distributors will pay approximately $590 million dollars to Native American tribes.
• The tribes claim that the companies added to an opioid crisis among tribal communities.

Three of the largest drug distributors in the US, alongside drug-making company Johnson & Johnson, agreed to pay approximately $590 million dollars to Native American tribes that claim the companies added to an opioid crisis among tribal communities, according to a proposed settlement filed Tuesday.

There are more than 400 tribes involved in the case, filed in the US District Court in Cleveland, but part of the settlement can be claimed by each of the 574 federally recognized tribes, per court filings. The tribes need to sign on before the settlement is finalized.

The country's three largest drug distributors — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson — will pay $439,964,500 over a seven-year span.

While Johnson & Johnson will pay $150,000,000 over a two-year span.

AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and Johnson & Johnson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

This opioid settlement marks the largest amount for Native American tribes, according to The Washington Post.

"This is epic," an attorney for the tribes, Lloyd Miller, told The Post. "The need is just too great in Indian Country. This settlement is a real turning point in history."

According to a 2020 Post analysis, between 2006 and 2014 Native Americans were 50% more likely to die from an opioid overdose than other ethnicities.

More than 3,000 lawsuits by various levels of government have been filed aiming to hold companies accountable for the opioid epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the last 20 years, Reuters reported.

In September 2021, The Cherokee Nation reached a separate settlement worth $75 million with the three drug distributors — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson — for similar opioid-related claims, according to The Associated Press. The settlement would be paid out over six and a half years, according to the outlet.

AmerisourceBergen told NPR that the agreement "will both expedite the flow of resources to communities impacted by the crisis while enabling AmerisourceBergen to focus on ensuring the pharmaceutical supply chain is meeting the needs of health care providers and patients."

Johnson & Johnson said that it no longer sells opioids in the country and that its opioid marketing was "appropriate and responsible," according to the NPR report.