Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Illinois and 41 other states negotiated a bipartisan nationwide $102.5 million settlement with Indivior Inc., a global pharmaceutical company and the maker of Suboxone, a prescription drug used to treat opioid addiction. Under the settlement, the state of Illinois is expected to receive approximately $2.9 million.
In 2016, Illinois and the coalition states filed a complaint against Indivior with the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging the company used illegal means to switch the Suboxone market from tablets to film while attempting to destroy the market for tablets to preserve its drug monopoly. Suboxone is a brand name prescription drug used to treat heroin and other opioid addictions by easing addiction cravings.
“Our settlement with Indivior comes at a crucial time when too many people continue to battle addiction to opioids and need medications to treat opioid addiction,” Raoul said. “I am absolutely committed to continuing to work across state lines on a bipartisan basis to hold accountable pharmaceutical companies that engage in practices that unlawfully limit competition to maximize profits at the expense of Illinois patients in need of life-saving medication.”
Along with the $102.5 million to the states, Indivior is required to provide certain information to the states to help ensure similar conduct does not happen again. This information includes all citizen petitions Indivior submits to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), notification of new products Indivior intends to bring to market, and any merger or acquisition Indivior proposes.
In 2021, Raoul announced a $300 million national settlement with Indivior to resolve a separate lawsuit over allegations Indivior inappropriately marketed Suboxone, which resulted in millions of dollars in improper state Medicaid spending. In that lawsuit, Raoul and a coalition of state attorneys general alleged Indivior and its subsidiaries used deceptive marketing tactics – namely, knowingly promoting the sale and use of Suboxone for uses that were unsafe, ineffective and medically unnecessary – to boost sales of Suboxone. The company’s aggressive practices resulted in false claims being submitted to states’ Medicaid programs.
Joining Raoul in this latest settlement are attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Bureau Chief Elizabeth L. Maxeiner and Assistant Attorney General Jennifer M. Coronel are handling the litigation for Raoul’s Antitrust Bureau.
