With a $385 million settlement, Suboxone maker Indivior is moving to wrap up years of antitrust litigation tied to its opioid addiction treatment.
The company will shell out the money to resolve long-running claims from a group of direct purchasers, Indivior said Monday.
Once approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the case will officially be closed. Indivior will likely pay up next month, the company said in a release.
“The resolution of this litigation, which was filed over a decade ago, provides greater certainty for all Indivior stakeholders and allows us to continue focusing on our important work for patients suffering from opioid use disorder and mental health illnesses around the world," CEO Mark Crossley said in a statement.
The deal follows two other recent settlements. In June, the company agreed to pay $102.5 million to settle a 2016 lawsuit brought on by 41 states and Washington, D.C. The states alleged that the company’s switch from a tablet to an oral film version of Suboxone was designed to extend its med's monopoly, Reuters reported.
Then, in August, Indivior offered $30 million to settle with health plans that made similar claims.
Suboxone, an opioid addiction therapy, has been at the center of litigation for many years.
Back in 2021, the company shelled out $300 million in a formalized previous agreement with all 50 states and the District of Columbia to quell allegations that it “falsely and aggressively” marketed the drug, leading to misuse of state Medicaid funds.
The lawsuits claimed Indivior promoted Suboxone to doctors who wrote prescriptions without any valid medical purpose.
That case followed a $600 million deal in 2020 that saw former CEO Shaun Thaxter plead guilty to his role in a scheme to secure Medicaid formulary coverage in Massachusetts. The settlement money will be paid out over the next seven years.
In brighter news for Indivior, its overdose reversal spray Opvee scored approval in May.