RICHMOND, Va. – A coalition of 40 states, including the Commonwealth of Virginia, have reached a $1.6 billion global settlement with opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt (MNK).
Attorney General Mark Herring today announced the major settlement Wednesday.
MNK, the largest generic opioid manufacturer in the United States, has agreed to pay $1.6 billion in cash to a trust that will cover the costs of opioid addiction treatment and related efforts, with the potential for increased payment to the trust.
As part of the settlement, MNK also agreed that its future generics opioid business will be subject to “stringent injunctive relief that, among other things, will prevent marketing and ensure systems are in place to prevent diversion.”
“The roots of the opioid crisis began in the boardrooms and marketing offices of pharmaceutical companies like Mallinckrodt and ran straight into Americans’ medicine cabinets,” said Herring. “Families across Virginia and around the country have been torn apart by this devastating epidemic. This settlement is just another step in making sure that opioid manufacturers are held accountable for the role that they played in creating and prolonging this crisis.”
The deal will absolve all opioid-related lawsuit against the company.
The settlement comes as part of a bipartisan, multistate effort to investigate and hold opioid manufacturers and distributors accountable for their role in the opioid crisis.
Herring still has pending suits against Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler Family, as well as fentanyl manufacturers Teva and Cephalon.
