Mass. to receive $19 million as part of landmark opioid crisis settlement
“This drug distributor actively and illegally profited from the opioid epidemic and put people’s health at risk."
After being accused of improperly marketing Suboxone, a United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical distributer will pay Massachusetts nearly $19 million as part of a multi-state settlement.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in July that Reckitt Benckiser Group had agreed to pay a historic $1.4 billion settlement after a criminal investigation into its practices. A $200 million portion of that settlement, which is the government’s largest recovery in an opioid case, went to states.
Suboxone is a drug used to treat those struggling with opioid addiction by suppressing cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It’s a powerful and addictive opioid.
Reckitt Benckiser allegedly told consumers Suboxone Sublingual Film, which is taken by being dissolved in the mouth, was less likely to be abused than Suboxone Sublingual Tablets, according to state Attorney General Maura Healey’s office. The company also reportedly said it was less likely for children to accidentally ingest the film, though it had no evidence to support either claim.
The settlement also addresses allegations that Reckitt Benckiser falsely told the FDA it had stopped making the tablets because of safety concerns in a ploy to delay the release of a generic version of the drug and control Suboxone pricing.
The Department of Justice also alleged that Reckitt Benckiser knowingly promoted the sale of the drug to physicians who were prescribing it in unsafe and medically unnecessary ways.
“This drug distributor actively and illegally profited from the opioid epidemic and put people’s health at risk,” Healey said in a release. “As we fight the opioid epidemic, our office will hold drug companies accountable for the harm they cause.”
The AG’s litigation involving Indivior, Inc., a separate corporation that broke off from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, is ongoing. Indivior was federally indicted in April for allegedly scheming to increase the use of Suboxone nationwide. Its federal criminal trial is set to begin in May.
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