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NEW YORK — Amneal Pharmaceuticals on Friday announced it is reaching a nationwide $272.5 million settlement agreement that would resolve almost all claims it faces in lawsuits by states, counties, municipalities and Native American tribal nations.
The settlement, which doesn’t include an admission of wrongdoing, would be payable over 10 years, the New Jersey-based drugmaker said in a press release announcing its first-quarter financial results.
Amneal would pay $92.5 million in cash and provide $180 million worth of naloxone nasal sprays, valued at $125 per two-pack, to help treat opioid overdoses. Alternatively, the settling parties could opt to receive cash payments for 25% of the product value — up to $45.0 million — during the last four years of the ten-year payment term, the company said.
Amneal produces several generic opioid products. A multi-state coalition of attorneys general claimed that the drugmaker knowingly failed to monitor and report suspicious orders placed by its customers, as it was required to by federal law.
It was one of the largest manufacturers of opioids from 2006 to 2019, selling nearly nine billion pills, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
“Amneal became one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the world by profiting off the sale of dangerous opioids,” James said. “While this settlement can’t fully reverse the damage done as a result of the national crisis, it will provide essential funding and resources for New York and other states to ensure those suffering get the help they need.
According to Amneal, the proposed settlement will depend on a sufficient number of parties agreeing to its final terms.
