The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has reached an agreement in principle on key financial terms with opioid maker Teva, which would provide up to $4.25 billion to participating states and local governments. While critical details of the settlement remain the subject of ongoing negotiations, Teva disclosed the key financial terms in its earnings announcement yesterday.
The Attorney General’s Office has been fighting to hold industry accountable for its role in promoting and profiting from the opioid crisis since 2017, when the Office began investigating opioid manufacturers and distributors. Since then, the Office has negotiated over $100 million in opioid settlements for Vermont. “Once finalized, this settlement will provide additional critical resources to address substance use disorder treatment and prevention in our state,” said Attorney General Susanne Young.
Teva, an Israel-based drug manufacturer, makes Actiq and Fentora, which are branded fentanyl products for cancer pain, and a number of generic opioids including oxycodone.
States alleged that Teva:
- promoted potent, rapid-onset fentanyl products for use by non-cancer patients;
- deceptively marketed opioids by downplaying the risk of addiction and overstating their benefits, including encouraging the idea that signs of addiction are actually “pseudoaddiction” treated by prescribing more opioids; and
- failed to comply with suspicious order monitoring requirements along with its distributor, Anda.
The parties have agreed on the following financial terms:
- Teva will pay a maximum of $4.25 billion in cash over 13 years. This figure includes amounts Teva has already agreed to pay under settlements with individual States, funds for participating States and subdivisions, and the $240 million of cash in lieu of product described below.
- As part of the financial term, Teva will provide up to $1.2 billion in generic naloxone (valued at Wholesale Acquisition Cost or WAC) over a 10-year period or $240 million of cash in lieu of product, at each State’s election. Naloxone is used to counteract overdoses.
- The settlement will build on the existing framework that states and subdivisions have created through other recent opioid settlements.
A final settlement remains contingent on agreement on critical business practice changes and transparency requirements.
Contact: Lauren Jandl, Chief of Staff, 802-828-3171