Rite Aid pharmacy chain files for bankruptcy amid falling sales, opioid lawsuits

Rite Aid said it filed for bankruptcy and received $3.45 billion in new financing as the pharmacy chain restructures to cope with decreased sales and opioid-related lawsuits.

"Implementing the contemplated restructuring plan will significantly reduce the Company’s debt, increase its financial flexibility and enable it to execute on key initiatives," Rite Aid said Sunday. 

The bankruptcy filing comes after Rite Aid settled in 2022 for up to $30 million to resolve lawsuits alleging that its pharmacies oversupplied prescription opioids, according to The Associated Press. 

The court-supervised restructuring process will also allow Rite Aid to "resolve litigation claims in an equitable manner," the company said. 

The Justice Department had filed a complaint in March against the pharmacy chain for allegedly knowingly filling hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions.

Rite Aid also appointed Jeffrey Stein, who leads a financial advisory firm, as CEO.

Employees should be paid without interruption, but the chain said it plans on closing "additional underperforming stores," among its more than 2,100 pharmacies in 17 states.

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