Question 1: How many payments have gone from Baltimore to these two drug manufacturers recently?

 

The city has actually been sending money to these two companies while they’re battling them in court.

 

The lawsuit was announced weeks ago. But on Sept. 13, the city bought COVID vaccines from McKesson for $30,000.

 

In the last two years, Baltimore’s fire department has bought $72,000 of medical supplies from McKesson.

 

Same thing with Cencora. Baltimore bought what they list as “family planning drugs” from Cencora on August 30, completing a $20,000 order.

 

Those are tiny payments, but you might expect the city to cut ties with the companies they say helped cause the opioid crisis.

 

Question 2: Cencora and McKesson make much more money from states and the federal government. How much revenue have they brought in?

 

Maryland has spent $13 million at McKesson since 2017 (per OpenTheBooks database).

 

But the real money is coming from the federal government.

 

In the last three years the federal government has spent $10.6 billion at Cencora, almost all from the Pentagon. Cencora runs the Defense Health Agency’s pharmacies.

 

And in the last three years the fed. gov has spent $28 billion at McKesson, mostly from the Department of Veterans Affairs. They’ve been the VA’s main drug supplier since 2004 and serve all their hospitals and clinics.

 

Question 3: This lawsuit is just one of many Baltimore has filed related to the opioid crisis. How much have they collected in damages?

 

Baltimore has collected at least $402.5 million suing pharmaceutical companies the past few months.

 

They’ve also settled with Johnson & Johnson, but they’ve refused to tell reporters how much money that was for. Our team submitted an open records request to find out. 

 

This trial with McKesson and Cencora is part of an $11 billion lawsuit, so the previous damages are going to seem small if they win this one.

 

Reuters reports that over 3,000 local governments have collected over $46 billion in opioid damages. So Baltimore’s would be amongst the largest in the nation.