Maker of anti-addiction drug Suboxone reaches $102.5 million settlement over antitrust claims
The company that makes the opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone has reached a $102.5 million settlement of antitrust claims with 41 states and the District of Columbia
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The company that makes the opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone has agreed to pay $102.5 million to 41 states and the District of Columbia to settle claims that the company engaged in anticompetitive practices, it announced Friday.
The agreement with Indivior, based in North Chesterfield, Virginia, averts a trial that was scheduled to start later this year.
States, led by Wisconsin, claimed that the company, previously a subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, made modest changes to Suboxone to extend patent protection and keep generic versions of the drug off the market.
Suboxone is a branded version of buprenorphine and naloxone. The case is distinct from claims brought by governments against other opioid makers, claiming they helped cause or deepen a nationwide overdose crisis. Those have resulted in settlements totaling more than $50 billion so far.
