Attorney General Alan Wilson announces $720 million settlement with eight opioid drug makers

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Attorney General Alan Wilson today announced approximately $720 million nationwide in settlements with eight drug makers that manufactured opioid pills and worsened the nationwide opioid crisis. Based on the overwhelming participation by attorneys general across the country, all eight defendants have agreed to proceed with a sign-on period for local governments. South Carolina could receive up to $10 million in all. 

“The opioid epidemic has devastated tens of thousands of families in South Carolina and across the country, and we’ve been working for years to hold the companies responsible for it accountable,” said Attorney General Wilson. “The money from these settlements, along with other settlements we’ve announced before, will go toward opioid treatment programs and efforts to prevent future victims of opioid addiction.”

The eight defendants and the total amount they will pay in funds to address the opioid crisis as part of the deal are:  

• Mylan (now part of Viatris): $284,447,916 paid over nine years 
• Hikma: $95,818,293 paid over one to four years 
• Amneal: $71,751,010 paid over 10 years 
• Apotex: $63,682,369 paid in a single year 
• Indivior: $38,022,450 paid over four years 
• Sun: $30,992,087 paid over one to four years 
• Alvogen: $18,680,162 paid in a single year 
• Zydus: $14,859,220 paid in a single year 

(Note: The dollar amounts listed don’t equal exactly $720M - this is the maximum amount if states get all the abatement payments and take cash in lieu of pharmaceutical products (medication-assisted treatment.))

In addition to these abatement payments, several of the settlements allow states to receive free pharmaceutical products or cash in lieu of these products. Additionally, seven of the companies (not including Indivior) are prohibited from promoting or marketing opioids and opioid products, making or selling any product that contains more than 40 mg of oxycodone per pill, and are required to put in place a monitoring and reporting system for suspicious orders. Indivior has agreed not to manufacture or sell opioid products for the next 10 years, but it will be able to continue marketing and selling medications to treat opioid use disorder.  

The settlements were negotiated by North Carolina, California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.