Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced national settlements worth approximately $720 million with eight pharmaceutical manufacturers whose opioids worsened the nationwide opioid crisis. The companies have agreed to proceed with a sign-on period for local governments. Once the settlements are finalized, Illinois could receive more than $23 million.
“As long as Illinois families continue to experience the devastating impacts of opioid addiction, my office will continue to work with other attorneys general to hold companies responsible for fueling the opioid crisis,” Raoul said. “I am proud of the resources we have obtained to help families and communities mitigate the impacts of opioid use disorder, which are not limited to any one state, community or socioeconomic group.”
Attorney General Raoul and a coalition of state attorneys general negotiated settlements with the following manufacturers that will pay to address the opioid crisis:
In addition to these abatement payments, several of the settlements allow states to receive free pharmaceutical products or cash in lieu of this product. The settlements Raoul and the coalition negotiated prohibit seven of the companies from promoting or marketing opioids and opioid products, or making or selling any product that contains more than 40 mg of oxycodone per pill. Those companies will also be required to put in place monitoring and reporting systems for suspicious orders. Indivior has agreed to not manufacture or sell opioid products for the next 10 years, but the company can continue marketing and selling medications to treat opioid use disorder.
The announcement is the latest in Attorney General Raoul’s ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic and hold accountable companies whose deceptive practices increased opioid prescriptions at the expense of public health. To date, national investigations and litigation against the pharmaceutical industry over the opioid crisis have led to more than $50 billion in settlements, with Illinois’ share at approximately $1.4 billion.
More details and updated reporting on the spending and uses of the state’s share of the opioid settlement funds will be available soon on the state’s Opioid Settlements Initiative website, which details all uses of opioid settlement funds the state and local governments receive.
The settlements were negotiated by Illinois with California, Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.
Attorney General Raoul urges anyone who believes they or a loved one may be addicted to opioids to seek help by calling the Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substances at 833-2FINDHELP, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
