Vitaris to Pay $335M in Latest Opioid Pact

Viatris has agreed to pay $335 million for its part in a nationwide settlement framework to resolve opioid-related claims by states, local governments, and tribes.
“While the Company’s presence in the U.S. opioids market is very small, the Company has agreed to this settlement to provide closure on these matters,” it said in a statement.
The Pennsylvania-based company, formed by the merger of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn business in 2020, did not admit wrongdoing.
Along with other manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers and individual healthcare providers, the firm is a defendant in more than 1,000 cases in the United States and Canada filed by various plaintiffs who seek damages and relief.
The drug maker manufactures a generic injectable version of the life-saving overdose reversal drug, naloxone, as well as a generic buprenorphine/naloxone product used for the treatment of opioid addiction.
It is also developing a novel delivery for meloxicam, a non-opioid pain medication.
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NCCI’s latest labor market report showed that indicators remained in solid shape as of the March 12 reference week.
The key takeaways that the trade group found in the data report for workers compensation executives include that employment growth in the first quarter remained close to the one-year average, “signaling continued resilience in the labor market.”
Strong growth was seen in Recent growth continued in healthcare, transportation and warehousing, and construction.
Leisure and hospitality and retail trade rebounded strongly from their February declines.
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Academic research published this month found that early physical therapy for workers reporting low back pain may reduce disability and improve their return to work.
In an Australian study, the academics examined more than 9,000 accepted workers’ compensation claims for low back pain.
In those who had seen a physical therapist, the median duration of work disability was associated with the timing of commencement of physical therapy, from 8.0 weeks for care within seven days of the injury to 34.7 weeks when care began more than 30 days after the onset of injury.
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