The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has reached an agreement in principle with opioid maker Endo over its role in promoting the opioid crisis. Endo, an Ireland-based drug maker with U.S. headquarters in Pennsylvania, makes generic and branded opioids, including Percocet and Endocet, and Opana ER, before it was withdrawn from the market in 2017. The settlement will require Endo International plc and its lenders to pay up to $450 million to participating states and local governments, turn over millions of documents related to its role in the opioid crisis for publication, and bans the marketing of Endo’s opioids forever.
Today’s announcement regarding Endo marks the third settlement the Attorney General’s Office reached with opioid makers since July when it announced agreements in principle with Teva and Allergan. To date, the Office has negotiated more than $100 million in opioid settlements for Vermont.
“Every Vermonter has been touched in some way by the opioid crisis,” said Attorney General Susanne Young. “No settlement amount will ever be enough. The Attorney General’s Office will continue to do everything in its power to hold the bad actors who promoted and profited from this crisis accountable.”
The agreement in principle with Endo, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday night in the Southern District of New York, resolves allegations that Endo boosted opioid sales using deceptive marketing that downplayed the risk of addiction. The resolution, which is contingent on final documentation and Bankruptcy Court approval, includes the following:
- Requires payment of $450 million in cash over 10 years to participating states and subdivisions.
- Requires Endo to turn over its opioid-related documents for publication online in a public document archive and pay $2.75 million for archival expenses.
- Bans the marketing of Endo’s opioids forever.
In addition to Vermont, the negotiations are being led by Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. The settlement is also joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Contact: Lauren Jandl, Chief of Staff, 802-828-3171