New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an $86 million multistate settlement in principle with opioid manufacturer Indivior for its role in driving the spread of deadly opioid addictions across New York and the country. Indivior produced buprenorphine-based products to treat opioid use disorder, which can feed opioid addictions when abused and cause further harm. As Attorney General James and a multistate coalition of attorneys general allege, Indivior inappropriately targeted its sales to dangerous prescribers – including doctors running pill mills. Indivior also failed to monitor suspicious orders, causing its products to be inappropriately prescribed and used to fuel, rather than treat, opioid addictions.
“When companies like Indivior exploit those in the thralls of addiction for profit, their behavior must be stopped,” said Attorney General James. “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. I will continue to ensure the companies that profited from this addiction crisis pay for the harm they perpetuated.”
The settlement in principle announced today will provide $86 million to participating states over five years, which will be used for opioid addiction treatment, recovery, and prevention programs.
The settlement in principle was negotiated by Attorney General James and the attorneys general of Illinois, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia in coordination with an executive committee consisting of the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont.
In 2019, Attorney General James filed the nation’s most extensive lawsuit against opioid distributors and manufacturers for their role in the opioid epidemic. Since then, Attorney General James has recovered more than $2.7 billion to support New York opioid abatement, treatment, and prevention efforts from companies including Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Publicis Health, 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 role in failing to properly regulate opioid prescriptions. Additionally, Attorney General James, co-led a coalition of nearly every attorney general in the nation in delivering more than $573 million — more than $32 million of which was earmarked for New York state — toward opioid treatment and abatement in an agreement and consent judgment with McKinsey & Company.
This settlement with Indivior was negotiated on behalf of New York by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy, Special Counsel Monica Hanna, and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Conrad of the Executive Division; Assistant Attorney General Eve Woodin of the Health Care Bureau; and Data Scientist Ken Morales of the Research and Analytics Department.