Drummond, 41 other AGs negotiate major settlement for illegal monopoly tactics

OKLAHOMA CITY (June 2, 2023) – Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and 40 other U.S. attorneys general have negotiated a $102.5 million settlement with the maker of Suboxone, a prescription medication used to treat opioid addiction.

Oklahoma will receive approximately $1.27 million from the settlement against the pharmaceutical company, Indivior Inc.

“I will not sit idly by and allow a company to illegally manipulate the market with the intention of inflating the cost of a critical medication,” Drummond said. “It is imperative for patients to have affordable access to essential medications.”

In 2016, the 42 States filed a complaint against Indivior Inc. alleging that the company used illegal means to switch the Suboxone market from tablets to film while attempting to destroy the market for tablets, in order to preserve its drug monopoly. Trial had been set for September 2023.

The agreement, which will be submitted to the court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for approval, requires Indivior to pay the states $102.5 million. Indivior is also required to comply with negotiated injunctive terms that include disclosures to the States of all citizen petitions to the FDA, introduction of new products or if there is a change in corporate control, which will help the States ensure that Indivior refrains from engaging in the same kind of conduct outlined in the complaint.

Other states who joined the complaint are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

The settlement is available here.