Attorney General Phil Weiser announces $102.5 million settlement with Suboxone maker for alleged illegal monopoly tactics

June 2, 2023 (DENVER) –Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that 42 states have negotiated a nationwide $102.5 million settlement with Indivior Inc., the maker of Suboxone. Colorado will receive approximately $2.5 million from the settlement. 

“As communities throughout Colorado were being devastated by the opioid crisis, Invidior was taking advantage of the crisis and scheming to limit competition and increase profits for Suboxone, a drug that is used to treat opioid addiction. The Department of Law is committed to holding drug manufacturers accountable when they break the law by maintaining an illegal monopoly over important life-saving treatments,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said. 

Suboxone is a drug approved for use by people with opioid addiction to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms while they undergo treatment. The medication previously came in tablet form, but in 2010, its manufacturer, Indivior Inc., switched from tablet to film, citing safety concerns. In 2016, the States filed a complaint against Indivior alleging that this switch from tablet to film was anticompetitive and designed to maintain Indivior’s market monopoly and thwart the entry of a generic equivalent into the market, a scheme known as “product hopping.” Trial had been set for September 2023. 

The agreement, which will be submitted to the federal 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 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 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 alleged in the complaint.  

Others joining the settlement includes the attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California,  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, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

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