New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that her office secured a multistate settlement in principle with pharmaceutical company Mylan Inc. (Mylan) that will deliver up to $335 million nationwide to help combat the opioid crisis. Mylan, which is now a part of Viatris, has manufactured and sold a variety of opioids since 2005, including generic fentanyl patches, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and buprenorphine products. The attorneys general allege Mylan deceptively promoted its products as less prone to abuse despite knowing for years that many of its opioid products – particularly its fentanyl patches – were actually more vulnerable to abuse. The company fueled the opioid crisis by marketing directly to doctors, leading to dangerous overprescribing and diversion of its opioids into the illegal drug market. Under the multistate settlement in principle, Mylan will pay up to $335 million to participating states over nine years.
“When drug companies put profits over people, innocent patients can get sucked into deadly cycles of addiction and overdoses,” said Attorney General James. “Mylan deceptively marketed its opioid products as safe, despite knowing they would be abused and sold illegally. While no settlement can fully repair the damage caused by dangerous opioids, these funds will help New York and other states fight the opioid crisis.”
This settlement in principle was negotiated by Attorney General James and the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia in coordination with the attorneys general of Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, and Vermont.
Attorney General James is a national leader in holding accountable the companies that fueled the opioid crisis and securing resources to help combat the epidemic of addictions and overdoses. To date, Attorney General James has secured more than $3 billion to support New York opioid abatement, treatment, and prevention efforts from companies including Purdue, Indivior, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt, Allergan, Endo, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen. Attorney General James has also led multistate coalitions in reaching settlements for billions of dollars with CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart for their roles in failing to properly regulate opioid prescriptions. Additionally, Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of states secured settlements with consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the marketing firm Publicis Health for their role in fueling the opioid crisis.
For New York, this settlement with Mylan was negotiated by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy, Special Counsel Monica Hanna, and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Conrad, of the Executive Division, and Data Scientist Ken Morales of the Research and Analytics Department.