The large US pharmacy chain Rite-Aid wants to reorganize itself in insolvency proceedings under the pressure of hundreds of lawsuits.
The allegation in the lawsuits is that Rite-Aid has had illegal prescriptions for painkillers filled in numerous cases.
On Monday night, Rite-Aid filed for proceedings under Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code with creditor protection. At the same time, the company received financing of 3.45 billion dollars (3.3 billion euros) for continued operations during the insolvency proceedings.
In March, the US Department of Justice also took Rite-Aid to court. In the lawsuit, it accuses the chain of ignoring clear warning signs when it came to suspicious prescriptions for painkillers containing opioids. Rite-Aid denies the allegations. The abuse of opioid painkillers is a major problem in the United States. Other drugstore and pharmacy chains have also been targeted by similar lawsuits in recent years.
At the same time, Rite-Aid’s problem was high debt. Falling sales left the company with less money to service them.
NEW JERSEY (dpa-AFX)