Indivior will pay $86 million over five years as part of a settlement with 17 states over it’s alleged role in the opioid epidemic, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced last week.
Virginia-based Indivior sold buprenorphine-based products that are designed to treat opioid use disorder but can also worsen an opioid addiction when abused, according to James, who accused the company of targeting sales to “dangerous prescribers” and not monitoring suspicious orders of its drugs.
“As a result of our work to hold Indivior accountable, they will end their destructive practices and provide new resources to invest in opioid addiction treatment, prevention, and education that will help save lives in New York,” James wrote in a statement.
James, along with attorneys general from 16 states, negotiated the deal, and the money will go to opioid addiction treatment, recovery and prevention programs. James filed a wide-ranging lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors in 2019, and has since secured settlements with Teva, Johnson & Johnson and AmerisourceBergen, among others.
Indivior has faced several large payouts over the opioid epidemic. Last year, the company paid $385 million to direct purchasers in order to end litigation over accusations that it prevented generic competition to its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone. That was in addition to $157 million to settle multi-district litigation.
Several other major companies have also made large opioid settlements over the last several years, including Publicis Health, which paid out $343 million in February to settle an opioid marketing lawsuit; Kroger, which paid $1.4 billion; and Irish drugmaker Endo International’s $450 million nationwide settlement.