First State Times

Attorney General Kathy Jennings and fellow attorneys general have reached an agreement in principle with opioid maker Endo International plc and its lenders that would provide up to $450 million to participating states and local governments, ban promotion of Endo’s opioids, and require Endo to turn over documents related to its role in the opioid crisis for publication in a public online archive.

The agreement in principle with Endo, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday night in the Southern District of New York, resolves allegations that Endo boosted opioid sales using deceptive marketing that downplayed the risk of addiction and overstated the benefits. Endo, an Ireland-based drugmaker with its U.S. headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania, makes generic and branded opioids including Percocet and Endocet, and also made Opana ER, which was withdrawn from the market in 2017. The states allege that Endo falsely promoted the benefits of Opana ER’s so-called abuse-deterrent formulation, which did nothing to deter oral abuse and led to deadly outbreaks of Hepatitis and HIV due to its widespread abuse via injection.

“Endo profited off of the opioid crisis while thousands of Delawareans’ lives were lost or irreparably damaged,” said Attorney General Jennings. “No amount of money will ever fully restore the harm done to our state, but we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to save lives. The funds from this settlement will make a real difference in Delaware’s fight to reverse the devastation that Big Pharma caused in our communities, and the terms of the agreement will ensure that Endo’s legacy is forever stained by its role in the opioid crisis.”

The resolution, which is contingent on final documentation and Bankruptcy Court approval, involves the following:

• Requires payment of $450 million in cash over 10 years to participating states and subdivisions.
• Requires Endo to turn over its opioid-related documents for publication online in a public document archive and pay $2.75 million for archival expenses.
• Bans the marketing of Endo’s opioids forever.

Delaware’s total recovery from the settlement is still being finalized. Delaware’s agreement with Endo builds on prior opioid agreements, including agreements with Purdue Pharma (valued at up to $50 million for Delaware); Johnson & Johnson and the nation’s principal opioid distributors (valued at up to $110 million); and McKinsey & Company (valued at $2.58 million).

Original source can be found here.