Feb 25 (Reuters) - Walgreens said it had entered

into a settlement agreement with telemedicine provider Everly

Health Solutions as part of which the pharmacy chain operator

will pay the company $595 million over a contract dispute for

COVID-19 testing.

The settlement, payable within two business days, comes

after a judge in Delaware recently ruled against Walgreens' bid

to set aside an arbitration ruling. Walgreens had faced paying a

substantially higher amount, nearly $1 billion.

Everly Health, formerly known as PWNHealth, initiated the

arbitration in 2022, claiming that Walgreens broke the terms of

a 2020 business contract during the pandemic.

Walgreens had used Everly's physician network to order

COVID-19 tests that customers requested on Walgreens' website,

according to court filings.

(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru)