The pharmacy chain, one of the country’s largest, faces more than a thousand lawsuits that say it filled illegal prescriptions for painkillers.
By Jordyn Holman and Lauren Hirsch in the NYT
Rite Aid, one of the largest pharmacy chains in the United States, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, weighed down by billions of dollars in debt, declining sales and more than a thousand federal, state and local lawsuits claiming it filled thousands of illegal prescriptions for painkillers.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey. Its largest creditors include the pharmaceutical company McKesson Corporation and the insurer Humana Health. The pharmacy has raised $3.45 billion to fund its operations while its in bankruptcy, during which it expects to continue to operate its stores and serve its customers.
The company also appointed a new chief executive, Jeffrey Stein, to lead its restructuring. Mr. Stein is the founder of Stein Advisors, a financial advisory firm that focuses on fixing troubled companies. Elizabeth Burr had been serving as Rite Aid’s temporary chief executive since January.
Rite Aid is one of many drugstore chains dealing with lawsuits stemming from the deadly abuse of opioids in the United States. In March, the Justice Department filed a complaint against Rite Aid and its various subsidiaries asserting that the company filled prescriptions for excessive quantities of opioids “that had obvious, and often multiple, red flags indicating misuse.”
The company has denied these claims.
Rite Aid, which has more than 45,000 employees, has struggled in recent years to compete against larger peers like CVS and Walgreens Boots Alliance, as well as Amazon. Deteriorating sales left the company with less money to invest in its businesses, and more difficultly in paying back its debt. As of June, according to company filings, it had $3.3 billion in debt, not counting the pending opioid litigation. (CONTINUED)