Maker of anti-addiction drug Suboxone reaches $102.5 million settlement over antitrust claims

PHILADELPHIA — The firm that makes the opioid dependancy therapy drug Suboxone has agreed to pay $102.5 million to 41 states and the District of Columbia to settle claims that the corporate engaged in anticompetitive practices, it introduced Friday.

The settlement with Indivior, based mostly in North Chesterfield, Virginia, averts a trial that was scheduled to start out later this yr.

States, led by Wisconsin, claimed that the corporate, beforehand a subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, made modest adjustments to Suboxone to increase patent safety and preserve generic variations of the drug off the market.

Suboxone is a branded model of buprenorphine and naloxone. The case is distinct from claims introduced by governments in opposition to different opioid makers, claiming they helped trigger or deepen a nationwide overdose disaster. Those have resulted in settlements totaling greater than $50 billion to this point.

Under the phrases of the deal, Indivior is to inform the states when it makes product modification or adjustments in company management.

The firm stated in a press release that settling the lawsuit will permit it to deal with its mission.

Reckitt Benckiser agreed in 2019 to pay the federal authorities $1.4 billion to resolve potential felony and civil legal responsibility involving its Suboxone enterprise.