Announcement of Multistate Settlement in Principle with Opioid Manufacturer for Role in Fueling Opioid Epidemic
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced a multistate settlement in principle with opioid manufacturer Amneal Pharmaceuticals (Amneal) for its role in fueling the nationwide epidemic of opioid addictions and overdoses. Amneal produces several generic opioid products and was one of the largest manufacturers of opioids from 2006 to 2019, selling nearly nine billion pills. Attorney General Jennings and a multistate coalition of attorneys general allege that Amneal knowingly failed to monitor and report suspicious orders placed by its customers, as it was required to by federal law. The settlement in principle announced today will provide a nationwide total of $92.5 million in cash over 10 years and $180 million worth of naloxone nasal spray, an overdose treatment medication, to participating states. The settlement in principle was negotiated by Attorney General Jennings and the attorneys general of New York, California, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.Â
Additional Information from the Delaware AG’s Office:
Attorney General Jennings Secures Over $270 Million Multistate Settlement in Principle with Amneal Pharmaceuticals for Its Role in the Opioid Crisis
AG Jennings Has Won Nearly a Quarter Billion in Total from Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors, and Marketers
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced a multistate settlement in principle with opioid manufacturer Amneal Pharmaceuticals (Amneal) for its role in fueling the nationwide epidemic of opioid addictions and overdoses. Amneal produces several generic opioid products and was one of the largest manufacturers of opioids from 2006 to 2019, selling nearly nine billion pills. Attorney General Jennings and a multistate coalition of attorneys general allege that Amneal knowingly failed to monitor and report suspicious orders placed by its customers, as it was required to by federal law.
“There must be an answer when companies like Amneal allow the value of profit to eclipse that of human life- this settlement is part of that answer,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “While no amount of money can undo the harm that has been done, we will continue to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid crisis, both nationally and here in Delaware. We have lost too many to this deadly epidemic, and we will stand for it no more.”
The settlement in principle announced today will provide a nationwide total of $92.5 million in cash over 10 years and $180 million worth of naloxone nasal spray, an overdose treatment medication, to participating states. The settlement in principle was negotiated by Attorney General Jennings and the attorneys general of New York, California, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.
To date, Attorney General Jennings has obtained settlements and other resolutions of the State’s opioid related-claims that are expected to result in nearly a quarter billion dollars being paid to address the opioid crisis in Delaware. As with previous opioids-related settlements, Delaware’s share of the Amneal settlement will go to the State’s Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Fund and be distributed on the recommendations of an independent commission pursuant to bipartisan legislation supported by AG Jennings. Spending from the Fund is largely restricted to services that reduce or remediate the harms caused by opioids.
