$270M settlement reached with opioid manufacturer Amneal Pharmaceuticals, NYS AG Letitia James says

New York State Attorney General Letitia James and a multistate coalition of attorneys general reached a more than $270 million settlement with opioid manufacturer Amneal Pharmaceuticals for its alleged role in the national opioid epidemic, James announced Friday.

The lawsuit alleges that the international pharmaceutical company, which makes generic and prescription drugs, knowingly failed to monitor and report suspicious orders placed by its customers, as is required by federal law, according to the attorney general’s office.

The company, as a result of the settlement, will pay $92.5 million in cash over 10 years and provide $180 million worth of naloxone nasal spray, the overdose treatment medication, to participating states and local governments, according to the office.

“While this settlement can’t fully reverse the damage done as a result of the national crisis, it will provide essential funding and resources for New York and other states to ensure those suffering get the help they need,” James said.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals, which is headquartered in New Jersey and has a manufacturing facility in Yaphank, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

Nationally, between 1999 and 2021 nearly 645,000 people have died from overdoses involving opioids, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rise in opioid-related deaths is documented in three waves, first rapidly increasing in the 1990s with increased prescriptions of opioids, and then in 2010 with increases in overdose deaths involving heroin. The third wave began in 2013 with increases in overdose deaths because of synthetic opioids, according to the CDC. 

The settlement with Amneal in principle was negotiated by the attorneys general of New York, California, Delaware, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

The company was one of the largest manufacturers of opioids from 2006 to 2019, selling nearly 9 billion pills, according to attorney general's office.

The settlement with Amneal is the latest in James’ push to hold opioid manufacturers and pharmacies accountable for their role in the epidemic. To date, her office has secured $2.7 billion in settlements for New York for opioid abatement, treatment and prevention efforts, the office said.