New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced a sizable settlement with pharmaceutical company Mylan Inc. over its involvement in the ongoing opioid crisis. Mylan, now a subsidiary of Viatris, will pay up to $335 million to participating states over the span of nine years. This agreement follows allegations that the company deceptively marketed opioid products, which included generic fentanyl patches, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and buprenorphine, among others. These products, it was claimed, were touted as being less prone to abuse, a notion that was counter to the reality of rising addiction and overdose rates.
Conceding to no wrongdoing, Mylan nonetheless agreed to settle, under pressure from a coalition of state attorneys general who collectively pushed to hold the pharmaceutical firm to account. According to a statement obtained by NY Attorney General's Office, James said, "When drug companies put profits over people, innocent patients can get sucked into deadly cycles of addiction and overdoses." The settlement is designed to directly feed funds into states' efforts to combat the implications of widescale opioid misuse and addiction.
The investigation into Mylan’s practices revealed that their aggressive marketing strategies were a contributing factor to the opioid epidemic. The distribution of these medications led to excessive prescriptions and, consequently, to their diversion into the illegal drug trade. This settlement is one among several obtained by Attorney General James, who has collectively secured more than $3 billion from various pharmaceutical entities. This money is earmarked for supporting opioid abatement, treatment, and prevention in New York.
States that are set to receive funds from the Mylan settlement include California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia, among others. These funds are expected to provide each state with much-needed financial support in its individual battles against opioid abuse. The negotiation team included First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy, Special Counsel Monica Hanna, and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Conrad. They were supported by Data Scientist Ken Morales of the Research and Analytics Department, as related by the NY Attorney General's Office.
Through these settlements, states are looking to apply these recoveries to various programs, including treatment services, addiction prevention education, and other initiatives intended to stem the tide of the opioid crisis that continues to affect communities across the United States.
