Endo, Florida reach $65M opioid settlement

Endo Pharmaceuticals and Endo Health Solutions, makers of Percocet, Opana, and Percodan, have settled with the State of Florida for $65 million (£47.7 million) to end their legal battle over Endo's role in the opioid epidemic in the United States.

The announcement comes at the same time as the state has finalised its nearly $300 million (£220 million) settlement with Johnson & Johnson that was announced in July, part of a multi-state settlement deal that also included distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. Prior to that, the state also settled with Insys Therapeutics, McKinsey Consulting, Mallinckrodt and Purdue Pharma.

Legislation in the case, State of Florida, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Legal Affairs v. Purdue Pharma, L.P., et al., will continue for the remaining defendants, including CVS, Walgreens, Allergan Entitites, and Cephalon.

Endo is accused of deceptive marketing of opioids, downplaying addiction risks, and failing to monitor suspicious opioid orders. As part of the settlement, the company admits no wrongdoing, fault or liability.

Along with the money from other settlements, the funds will be put into an opioid remediation fund that can be used for a broad range of purposes including medical treatment of opioid use disorder, rehabilitation services, treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome, prevention of further abuse through policy changes and public education campaigns, first responder training, and opioid research. It will be distributed among Florida counties and cities that have separately sued Endo.

“The national opioid crisis is wreaking havoc on families across this country," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement. "As Attorney General, I continue to work tirelessly to hold companies that helped fuel this crisis responsible for their actions—so we can secure funds to help restore communities devastated by opioid abuse. These separate, multimillion-dollar agreements will help further this vital mission and protect Florida families.”

The settlement includes a most favoured nations clause that could increase the amount of the settlement if another state with a smaller population negotiates a larger amount.