 "Walmart latest pharmacy chain to propose to settle lawsuits with govts")
Retail giant Walmart on Tuesday become the latest major player in the drug industry to announce a plan to settle lawsuits filed by state and local governments over the toll of powerful prescription opioids sold at its pharmacies with state and local governments across the US.
The USD 3.1 billion proposal follows similar announcements November 2 from the two largest US pharmacy chains, CVS Health and Walgreen Co., which each said they would pay about USD 5 billion.
The deals are the product of negotiations with a group of state attorneys general, but they are not final. The CVS and Walgreens deals would have to be accepted first by a critical mass of state and local governments before they are completed.
Walmart's plan would have to be approved by 43 states. The formal process has not yet begun.
The national pharmacies join some of the biggest drugmakers and drug distributors in settling complex lawsuits over their alleged roles in an opioid overdose epidemic that has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the US over the past two decades.
The tally of proposed and finalised settlements in recent years is more than USD 50 billion, with most of that to be used by governments to combat the crisis.
In the 2000s, most fatal opioid overdoses involved prescription drugs such as OxyContin and generic oxycodone. After governments, doctors and companies took steps to make them harder to obtain, people addicted to the drugs increasingly turned to heroin, which proved more deadly.
In recent years, opioid deaths have soared to record levels around 80,000 a year. Most of those deaths involve illicitly produced version of the powerful lab-made drug fentanyl, which is appearing throughout the US supply of illegal drugs.
... announces $20-bn share buyback
Walmart on Tuesday lifted its annual sales and profit forecast as demand for groceries holds up despite higher prices, while
discounts on clothing and electronics helped it cut back excess inventories ahead of the busy holiday season.
The firm also announced a new $20-billion share buyback plan, sending its shares as much as up 7 per cent in morning trading to a six-month high of $148.40.
Its results boosted stocks of other major retailers, including Target Corp, Costco and Macy's Inc. Target reports results on Wednesday.
Amid persistent inflation, investors have been nervously eyeing how consumer spending pans out during the crucial holiday season, when retailers make more than a third of their annual profits.
The company said it expects fiscal 2023 adjusted earnings per share to fall 6% to 7%, compared to its previous forecast of a 9% to 11% decline.
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