For Immediate Release:
Friday, June 2, 2023

Contact: Nazneen Ahmed
919-716-0060

(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today announced a $102.5 million multi-state settlement with Indivior Inc., the maker of opioid use disorder treatment drug Suboxone, over its alleged monopoly tactics. North Carolina’s share is $2.96 million.

“When drug companies manipulate the market to make more money, they put people’s lives on the line,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “It’s wrong and against the law. That’s why my fellow state attorneys general and I have taken action. This agreement will help ensure that people who need life-saving medication to address their substance use disorder can get it.”

In 2016, Attorney General Stein and a bipartisan group of 41 other attorneys general filed a complaint alleging Indivior tried to preserve its drug monopoly by illegally switching the Suboxone market from tablets to film and attempting to destroy the market for tablets.

Trial had been set for September 2023. The agreement will now be submitted to the court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for approval. In addition to the payment, Indivior is also required to comply with negotiated injunctive terms that include disclosing to the states all of the citizen petitions to the FDA, introduction of new products, or if there is a change in corporate control. This information will help the attorneys general ensure that Indivior does not engage in the same alleged unlawful conduct again.

Attorney General Stein is joined in this settlement with the Attorneys General of Wisconsin, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.

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