Beehive State News

On June 2, 2023, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes announced that 42 states, led by Wisconsin, have negotiated a nationwide $102.5 million settlement with Indivior, the maker of Suboxone.  Utah will receive about $3.4 million from the settlement.

Suboxone treats drug addiction.  In 2016 the States sued Indivior, alleging that it illegally switched the Suboxone market from tablets to an ingestible film format with new patent protection just before the orphan drug protection expired while attempting to destroy the tablet market to preserve its drug monopoly. A trial had been set for September 2023.

“Patent and orphan drug protection is important to encourage investment in new drugs,” said Attorney General Reyes, adding, “But when a company abuses those protections to prevent timely competition from generic drugs, we will take action to preserve the best choices for consumers and competition in the marketplace.” 

Indivior must pay the states $102.5 million under the agreement, which the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will submit for approval. In addition, Indivior is required to comply with negotiated injunctive terms, which include disclosures to the States of all citizen petitions to the FDA, the introduction of new products, or any change in corporate control, to ensure that Indivior does not engage in the same kind of conduct alleged in the complaint.

Wisconsin’s Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley, is the lead attorney for the forty-two States, including 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, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  Utah is represented by Deputy Attorney General David Sonnenreich, Assistant Attorney General Marie W.L. Martin, and other members of the Antitrust and Data Privacy Section of the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

Read the details of the settlement here.

Original source can be found here.