Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter recently announced an $8.75 million settlement with Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the company’s alleged role in the Oklahoma opioid crisis.
In addition to the payment, Endo agreed that it will not employ or contract with sales representatives, speakers, or opinion leaders to promote opioids in Oklahoma. Endo will also not hold speaking events to promote opioids in Oklahoma, nor will it financially support any promotional materials about opioids, such as brochures, newsletters, or books.
Attorney General Hunter seemed to indicate that by agreeing to this settlement, Endo avoided legal action that Oklahoma was considering against the company. In a released statement, Hunter noted, “The money from this settlement as well as the money from other settlements will allow us to begin abating Oklahoma’s problem,” Attorney General Hunter said. “Communities in our state continue to struggle with addiction and the fallout from the ongoing opioid crisis. It’s estimated as many as 100,000 Oklahomans continue struggling with addiction and every 25 minutes a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal. We look forward to working with members of the legislature and executive branch to ensure this money goes toward helping those who have been affected by or those who continue to struggle with opioid addiction.”
Endo drew attention to the fact that it changed its executive leadership team in 2016, and shortly after was one of the first pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily stop promotions of all opioid medications. Further, Endo has also terminated all research and development of new opioid medications and withdrew the pain medication Opana ER from the market and worked to curb counterfeiting and theft of the drug.
Attorney General Hunter commended Endo for the steps it has taken to abate the opioid epidemic, saying in a statement, “When they saw a problem, corporate executives proactively worked, internally and with stakeholders, to find a solution, not a cover-up, as we have discovered with numerous other companies during our years-long investigation.”
This settlement follows the June 2019 $85 million settlement with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries for similar allegations. Most of the $8.75 million settlement with Endo will go into an Opioid Lawsuit Settlement Fund. $390,000 of the settlement is to be set aside to be split between Oklahoma government and the federal government to resolve alleged violations of the Oklahoma Medicaid False Claims Act and the Oklahoma Medicaid Program Integrity Act. A portion of the settlement will also go towards paying fees and expenses to outside attorneys who have worked on the opioid litigation.
The money in the Opioid Lawsuit Settlement Fund is expected to remain in the account until legislation is passed to disburse the funds.
As is typical, Endo did not admit any wrongdoing, fault, or liability as part of the settlement.