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In the opiate crisis, three drug distributors and an Israeli pharmaceutical company agreed to pay $ 260-million to the two counties that sued them. REUTERS / George Frey

In the United States, the first federal lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry in the context of the opiate drug crisis will not take place. It was due to start on Oct. 21 in Ohio but the four companies involved reached an amicable deal at the last minute.

With our correspondent in Washington, Anne Corpet

The companies, three drug distributors and an Israeli pharmaceutical company agreed to pay $ 260 million to the two counties suing them. Other companies pursued had reached this type of agreement in previous weeks.

Pay for not exposing yourself

All are blamed for the false promotion of drugs heavily loaded with opiates and thus have caused the addiction of millions of Americans. The massive distribution of these drugs has led to an overdose epidemic that has already claimed 400,000 lives in the United States. " The proposed agreement will make significant progress in stemming the crisis. It brings resources to opiate addiction treatment programs , "the plaintiffs' lawyers said.

But this agreement is only preliminary. Some 2,700 complaints are ongoing against the pharmaceutical industry. They have been filed by local communities, Indian tribes and almost all American states. A global amicable agreement is under discussion. Manufacturers and distributors of these opiate drugs prefer to pay rather than expose their methods for long weeks in a public trial.

► See also: United States: Opening of the much-anticipated trial of the opiate crisis