By 
Kåre Schultz, Teva’s chief executive.
Alex Edelman/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Shares of
Teva Pharmaceutical
soared early Wednesday as the Israeli drugmaker used a second-quarter update to signal a significant step toward resolving litigation it faces over its alleged role in the opioid crisis.
Teva
(ticker: TEVA) rose 16.2% to $8.27 in premarket trading after the company said it would pay up to $4.25 billion (including already settled cases) spread over 13 years, in details set out in Tuesday’s financial results.
Kåre Schultz, Teva’s president and CEO, said he was “pleased to have reached a nationwide agreement in principle, pending participation by states and subdivisions, to resolve the majority of our costly legacy opioids litigation, and importantly, make critical medicines available to those most impacted by the U.S. opioid epidemic.”
The $4.25 billion includes the supply of Narcan, its drug which can reverse an overdose from opioids worth $1.2 billion, plus approximately $100 million for Native American tribes.
Write to Rupert Steiner at rupert.steiner@dowjones.com
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