AbbVie’s Allergan unit has allegedly reached an agreement to pay more than $2 billion to resolve lawsuits filed by state and local governments over the alleged improper marketing of Kadian, an opioid drug. More than 3,000 lawsuits were filed against the company, alleging that Allergan deceptively marketed opioids by downplaying the risks of addiction, overstating the benefits of opioids, and encouraging doctors to treat patients who were showing signs of addiction by prescribing even more opioids. According to the lawsuits, Allergan also allegedly failed to maintain effective controls to prevent the diversion of opioids.
The complete terms of the settlement are still being ironed out, including the timeline of the payout and a list of internal Allergan documents that may be made public. Additionally, the allocation of money to each participating state and local government has yet to be announced.
This settlement was alluded to in our article about the $4 billion Teva Pharmaceuticals settlement and is part of the consolidated litigation before a federal judge in Cleveland. The Teva settlement was contingent upon Allergan also reaching a settlement. Teva and Allergan have an indemnity agreement that requires Allergan to cover legal costs that are tied to opioid claims prior to Teva’s 2016 purchase of Allergan’s generics line.
The negotiations in the litigation are being led by a bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General from California, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. While New York was among the 13 states working toward negotiating this settlement, New York settled separately with Allergan in December 2021, as noted below.
Statements
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said of the settlement, “there’s no amount of money that can make up for the death and destruction that these companies caused by putting their profits before people’s lives. Even so, I have and will continue to aggressively hold these companies accountable for the harm they’ve caused in order to protect the people of Minnesota. I’m encouraged by the potential of the Teva and Allergan settlement frameworks to provide critical resources to address the ongoing opioid epidemic.”
“You can see how the opioid playbook got passed around,” said Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery, III. “Deceptive marketing, the downplay of addiction risk, the encouragement of doctors to prescribe those showing signs of addiction…more opioids. We will continue to hold manufacturers responsible for their part and get much needed funding to abate the crisis.”
Other Allergan Settlements
This settlement follows the $200 million settlement Allergan agreed to in December in a New York case focused on two Long Island counties, as well as other local governments in the state. A judge still needs to decide how much Teva will pay in that case (if anything).
In May 2022, Allergan and Teva agreed to pay $161 million to resolve opioid litigation in West Virginia: $83 million from Teva, $27 million in Narcan, and $51 million from Allergan.
In July 2022, Allergan and Teva reached a $58 million settlement over opioid claims in San Francisco: $25 million from Teva, $20 million in Narcan, and $13 million from Allergan.