Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Secures $720 Mil­lion from Drug Man­u­fac­tur­ers for their Role in the Cat­a­stroph­ic Opi­oid Epidemic

Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a new opioid settlement worth $720 million with eight drug makers that manufactured opioid pills and worsened the nationwide opioid crisis. In partnership with State Attorneys General across the country, this settlement will allow all local governments to participate through a sign-on period. The State of Texas and its political subdivisions could receive up to $45.5 million. 

“These manufacturers played a role in creating one of the most destructive public health crises our country has ever faced,” said Attorney General Paxton. “These settlements are an important step in holding companies accountable for their reckless greed and the part they had in worsening the opioid epidemic, which has devastated our communities and poisoned countless Texans.” 

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 a 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 

In addition to these abatement payments, the companies have also agreed to injunctive relief. Seven of the companies—not including Indivior—are prohibited from promoting or marketing opioid products, from 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, for its part, has agreed to not 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. 

Including this new settlement, Attorney General Paxton has obtained settlements committing nearly $3.34 billion in funds for Texas from companies that helped fuel the catastrophic opioid crisis.