CVS Executive Defends Pharmacy Chain’s Handling of Opioid Drugs

A CVS Health Corp. executive acknowledged in court that some of the company’s U.S. pharmacies filled illegitimate opioid prescriptions for almost a decade, but he denied any widespread failure to monitor sales of the addictive painkillers.

Tom Davis, who oversees safety issues for CVS, told jurors Tuesday in federal court in Cleveland that while the pharmacy chain had settled multiple state and federal probes over opioids between 2008 and 2016, those cases were outliers.

The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based company “operates 10,000 stores around the U.S. and I don’t believe there are any systemic problems” related to monitoring opioid prescriptions ...