Eight pharmaceutical companies will pay approximately $720 million for their role in manufacturing opioid pills that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) claimed fueled the ongoing nationwide epidemic of opioid addictions. These funds will help deliver critical resources to communities throughout New York and the nation to combat the opioid crisis.
New York will receive up to $38.7 million from the eight companies. To date, Attorney General Letitia James has secured more than $3 billion to support New York opioid abatement, treatment, and prevention efforts.
The eight companies and the total amounts they will pay in funding to address the opioid crisis are:
- Mylan (now part of Viatris) will pay $284,447,916 over nine years
- Hikma will pay $95,818,293 over one to four years
- Amneal — with a location in Brookhaven — will pay $71,751,010 over 10 years
- Apotex will pay $63,682,369 in one year
- Indivior will pay $38,022,450 over four years
- Sun will pay $30,992,087 in one to four years
- Alvogen will pay $18,680,162 in one year
- Zydus will pay $14,859,220 in one year
Payments will begin as soon as next year. The eight companies will also provide $14 million in additional funding and Mylan, Hikma, Amneal, and Indivior will provide opioid addiction treatment medications or cash in lieu of this product to participating states valued at approximately $86 million.
All companies besides Indivior will be prohibited from promoting or marketing opioids and opioid products and making or selling any product that contains more than 40 mg of oxycodone per pill. They must also put in place a monitoring and reporting system for suspicious orders. Indivior will not manufacture or sell opioid products for the next 10 years, but it will be able to continue marketing and selling medications to treat opioid addiction.
For New York, the settlement negotiations were led by Special Counsel Monica Hanna and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Conrad with the assistance of the Deputy Director of Research and Analytics Gautam Sisodia and Data Scientist Kenneth Morales, under the supervision of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy. In addition to New York, the settlements were negotiated by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.
“For years, drug companies prioritized profits at the expense of struggling New Yorkers who became trapped in deadly opioid addictions,” James said. “While communities throughout our state continue to suffer from the opioid crisis, these resources will help us begin to heal. I will continue to work to hold those responsible for the opioid crisis accountable and ensure that New Yorkers who have been most affected get the support they need.”