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This settlement is closed!
Please see what other class action settlements you might qualify to claim cash from in our Open Settlements directory!
UPDATE 2:
- Top Class Actions viewers reported receiving payments for as much as $2,563.92 as of mid-May 2021.
- Congratulations to everyone who submitted a claim and got paid!
UPDATE:
- According to the settlement website, checks were mailed to approved claimants on May 10, 2021.
- Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
A $60 million settlement has been reached between the makers of the opioid addiction medication Suboxone and the Federal Trade Commission.
According to the FTC, Indivior Inc. and its subsidiary Reckitt Benckiser Group, conspired to prevent a lower-priced generic version of Suboxone from interfering with its significant pharmaceutical sales.
The settlement benefits all U.S. consumers who were prescribed Suboxone Film between March 1, 2013 and Feb. 28, 2019. The payout amount will depend on the number of total claims filed and how long the consumer was prescribed Suboxone film.
The FTC anticompetitive lawsuit notes that Indivior falsely marketed its Suboxone Film as being “less susceptible to accidental pediatric exposure than Suboxone Tablets,” right before a generic version of Suboxone tablets entered the market.
This misleading claim reportedly forced many consumers to switch to Suboxone Film which was the more expensive option.
The FTC states that Indivior even went so far as to submit a petition to the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 with statements that “Suboxone Tablets had been discontinued due to safety concerns about the tablet formulation of the drug.”
“In the midst of the nation’s opioid crisis, a critical opioid-addiction treatment was about to become more affordable,” said Gail Levine, a Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “But Indivior prevented that. It kept its drug prices high by unlawfully impeding generic manufacturers from competing effectively.”
The Suboxone lawsuit claims that Indivior engaged in improper business practices that didn’t allow competition thus violating Section 5 of the FTC Act.
Under the terms of the FTC settlement, consumers must file a claim no later than Dec. 1, 2020 to get a refund check.
Who’s Eligible
U.S. consumers who were prescribed Suboxone Film between March 1, 2013 and Feb. 28, 2019 are eligible to file a claim for this FTC settlement.
Potential Award
Varies.
The payout amount depends on how long the consumer took Suboxone and how many claims are submitted overall.
Proof of Purchase
Not required at this time. However, consumers are encouraged to save any supporting documents in case the settlement administrator has questions later on.
Claim Form
NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.
Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Claim Form Deadline
12/1/2020
Case Name
FTC v. Indivior, Case No. 1:20-cv-00036-JPJ-PMS, and FTC v. Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, Case No. 1:19-cv-00028, both in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Abingdon
Final Hearing
N/A
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
Suboxone Claims Center
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91356
Seattle, WA 98111
Info@SuboxoneClaimsCenter.com
1‑877‑545‑0238
Class Counsel
Markus H. Meier
Bradley Albert
Daniel Butrymowicz
Matthew Weprin
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Defense Counsel
Counsel for Reckitt Benckiser Group:
Howard M. Shapiro
WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE
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400 thoughts onFTC Opioid Addiction Treatment Suboxone Settlement
Ignorant people who think that we chose to get addicted to pain meds our doctors were prescribing and saying that we need them!!!
Yeah that was what I thought for a long time also…that I had been just a good for nothing addict. It took quite a bit before I realized I never was an addict…
Without insurance I eventually ran outta money to pay $200 specialist visits and have tests and procedures totalling my life savings AND my credit. I met someone who literally GAVE me the same medication I’d been prescribed by my Drs (of course imagining he’d eventually receive sex in exchange). Not knowing what else to do, I played the game thinking it harmless since I never did sleep with him. Ended up realizing that everyone still assumed I had but was just lying about it. Pulled into his driveway one night only to find myself jerked outta my car by vice narcotics (that I didn’t even see until all 4 of my doors were opened at once..id walked straight into a drug bust..they were searching his house)..they tore my car apart and found the 13 hydrocodone Id gotten from him & charged me with TRAFFICKING HEROIN!! mind you, at this time hydrocodone were still only a sched3 drug AND I’d just had my own prescription 6 mts before but I spent almost a yr in jail awaiting trial. I couldn’t afford to hire my own atty so to get outta jail I pled guilty to attempted trafficking of heroin. The atty I had appointed by the court said it was my only option despite the fact that Id never sold drugs or been convicted of a crime in my life! Supposedly just having them in my car not in a bottle and having driven with them IS considered trafficking?!
Anyway, I was so sick when I first got in jail so that told me I MUST BE AN ADDICT. I’ll forever have a drug trafficking felony on my record, so I’m a no good addict.
I was in constant pain the entire time I was in jail so when I got out I got my prescription back for hydrocodone. I was able to get a regular Dr to prescribe it but I was honestly scared of it after all I’d been through..so i ended up asking about alternatives and that’s where suboxone came in. I had to go to a pain mgmt Dr but was able to do that bc I got Medicaid when I got pregnant with my daughter.
Id never had Medicaid so I didn’t know I had to be switched from pregnancy Medicaid to regular so many mts after giving birth. Social services admitted they’d accidently never sent the paperwork but that didn’t make a diff to my pain Dr, which I ended up losing bc I cldnt afford to pay out of pocket. The only other Dr near me who prescribed suboxone was a substance abuse clinic, so I went there after getting my insurance worked out. I was an addict after all.
Well, I realized while going there that I could not relate to the other patients experiences. I’d never stolen for drugs or taken other drugs bc I couldn’t get “my drug of choice”. It was there that I learned there is a difference between being “addicted” and being “dependent”.
I ended up going thru some crazy unfair and unfortunate circumstances. Despite what my criminal and health records paint me as, I can say with honest certainty that I am not and have never been an addict.
?
Am I still able to file a claim if my insurance has paid for my Suboxone?I’ve been on it for over 10 years now. I feel like I should still be entitled to something considering this is not the miracle drug my doctor described it as being and I wish I just came off of the pain pills cold turkey before I even started this Suboxone.
That’s a question I need the answer to myself…have u any luck getting an answer to this?
Hi Amy, this class action suit is not about the effectiveness of the medication nor the concept of trading one addiction for another nor the competence/incompetence of your prescribing physician. It’s about Indivior and unfair/deceptive marketing practices to attempt to prevent a cheaper generic version from becoming available. Therefore forcing people to continue to pay for the more expensive Suboxone brand of bupenorphine
What did you read it is also about being addicted to it an the many side effects that it causes my teeth where perfect 2011 now they are rotted out at the gums so you will be entitled to damages no it all
Anyone hear anything in regards to the payout ?
Been following for quite some time, as I’m sure most have
Chantel and all of you on here I feel your pain. I was prescribed pain pills for months for back pain, till one day the doctor didn’t give them to me. Sure I was ok with it then I got sick not understanding why. I never went to heroine but I did my very best to buy and look for pills everyday, until a friend told me to get off pills start taking suboxtone. I thought wow I don’t have to get sick that’s amazing. So my journey over 7 yrs ago was 2 16 mil of subs (why would any need that much) well the Crooked ass doctor suggested). As if current I have the worse constipation so bad I’ve been hospitalized more than once, I feel like I have arthritis in my hands as the swell up all the time. My many horrible migraines I get from the medication. I wish I could go back and just go cold Turkey. I would never recommend this to anyone unless you want a long prison sentence. I will tell you where I am at now down 2 only 2 milligrams I work out to keep healthy and my mind right. This has been a long journey but I’m almost there so you can do it, it just takes time and you have to cut back slowly so you don’t feel the withdrawal. I pray for all of you and your not alone. To the one that made that comment you should be ashamed of yourself you don’t know anyone’s struggle on here and addiction is no joke everyone should be proud that they are clean and sober even if your taking Subs.
I agree Syrena and I’ve been in the rat race for a long time myself…after work I would actually work harder playing the waiting game iso the shit…and remember folks the lovely people who make the (in sarcastic voice) suboxone…also are the biggest opiate producers as well!! Let’s get everyone hooked on phonix then well throw them a little orange life preserver and well trap them even worse!! I mean subs are definitely safer than being on the streets hunting down dope or ? pills..but I’d rather be dope sick than suboxone sick any day!!! I couldn’t believe how violently ill i was from subs than opiates!! I actually went to a detox once that used methadone…. was sicker the day after I left then when I went in!! My heart goes out to the sick and the suffering ? its no joke folks!!
Yes! Getting off pills is way easier than suboxone too.The few days of sickness and your done…but coming off suboxone is pure hell.10times worse withdrawls and lasts not just a few days ,but weeks! I was sick a whole month and never felt quite the same and back to myself after it all…so how is suboxone any better or better alternative to the meds we originally were prescribed?its not.its far worse and most now realize it and wonder why they couldn’t just work w their doc and when off the pills…or as u said quite em cold turkey…seemed like a good solution before and only now is everyone realizing how it put everyone in a position far worse….and making many life long slave to it even more so because getting off subs is so bad….they didn’t solve or fix anything! And in the long run its causing more suffering or at least keeping people in same boat they were in before.
Gotta research tapering yourself. The doctor never will and they cut you off at 4mg. It’s almost like they want you to relapse. 4mg isn’t even close to symptom free if you stop. You gotta do it. Even if it’s .25mg a month, you have to start or your still a prisoner. Free yourself, they just want your money
I realized this the first time two years into methadone treatment when the “dr” wanted to go up again to 180mg. Insane. Two years before, when I started, that dose would’ve killed me an now they just act like it was nothing.
I’ve been on Suboxone for 15 years I’ve tried to quit many times but I I never could. I used to run a detox as well and with taper people off it basically you just drop down to mg every two weeks and then once you get down to 2 mg do that every other day and that’s the best you’re going to get if you’d only been on it for a year to it it’ll be relatively painless you’ll be depressed and tired the main thing is fatigue it’s not real intense it’s not like heroin it just you can sleep on it so it’s actually not that bad in comparison. However keep in mind never do 1 mg or less than 2 mg when you take less than 2 million mg there’s not enough naloxone to block the effects of how powerful the opiate is so really when you take less you can abused it and get high if you take a less than 2 milligram g but if you take 8mg the block the blocker is going to take an effect and you won’t feel anything so when you start taking less than 2 milligram do you actually just building up your tolerance worse so to milligrams is the cutoff
Also people don’t know how powerful Suboxone and no doctor ever tells anyone it is the third strongest opiate out there Google opiate scale and morphine is considered the base at 1 so Suboxone is 40 times stronger then morphine the next strongest thing is fentanyl which is 50 times stronger and the one after that I don’t even know how to pronounce it but the same stuff that killed Michael Jackson and that’s like a hundred times stronger than morphine here on heroin and dilaudid in only like 1.6 and 1.9 times stronger than morphine so Suboxone is really powerful and if you’ve been on it for years it’s almost like you’re never going to get off it because like me I’ve been on it for close to 15 years it’s burnout my my dope Ian my dopamine production and I’m causing a state of depression and fatigue and low motivation but I pushed through it and work and go to school
I have been on suboxone from July 2007 and I am still taking them. I have tried weening myself off several times but I get so sick i can’t take it.so then I have to get back on them. If they would of told me this at my first appointment I never would of started taking them.
I agree! It’s the devils drug I call it. I had a man at a NA meeting tell me that he had come off Suboxone with his doctors guidance twice. He said quitting a heroine
addiction was easier and way less painful. My doctor cut me off cold turkey and I was taking 4 8mg strips a day. I thought the 36 hours I had to be off real opiates before I could begin suboxone was hell…this was 10 times worse. I wish that I would’ve just continued on with nothing. Suboxone totally has messed with my life, family, myself, and is the reason for many PTSD panic episodes. Neat of luck to all.
*Best not Neat
I have been on it for over 10 years now. I’ve never heard of having to be off of opiates for 36 hours before you’re able to take the Suboxone though. That’s really rough. I can’t believe your doctor made you do that!
it’s 24 hours and believe me it if you’re strung out on heroin or any strong opiate morphine is not too bad you can do it pretty early but it will throw you into precipitated withdrawals and you will get it will instantly send you the day 3 as soon as you take that and then you can do gram grams of heroin or Ken’s of oxycontin’s and you will not get well you have to write it out for another twenty-four hours and then you can get well but once you if you’re strung out and you take Suboxone earlier than 16 hours I can never wait 24 out always go 16in at work if if you go 14 or 13 you’ll probably be sick for a couple hours
Its a vicious cycle and the sickness is the worst!!
In feel you man. I’ve been on subs on and off since 2009. They are not ALL what I was told. I’ve also tried to get off them multiple times, and just couldn’t take it. I mean life and bills don’t stop while you’re basically on your own sick as shit going to work with never ending chills and depression beyond belief. You basically feel you have no choice but to be on it. I was told the depression wouldn’t fully subside for up to a year, and that was it. Now I’m contemplating never getting off of it, and I feel Indivior has got me right where they want me. On top of being inhumane, the money I’ve shelled out all these years paying out of pocket?? I’m so glad that this finally happened, and thank you so much to everyone who did make it happen.
me too, this ruined my life!!! i wish i knew what i was getting involved with. i went for detox to mount sinai hospital. for percocet addiction, i was given suboxone, without any explaination. i had no clue what it was or how it would ruin my life. all i want is to get off and forget. a decade of my life gone, and who knows how much longer. what a mess !!!!
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE IN THIS SITUATION DON’T USE DRUG. IT’S A CHOICE!1!
Lolol There’s nothing more irritating than some ignorant person spouting off about what people should and shouldn’t do in regards to a topic they know nothing about. Shut your mouth and go away. Your “insight” is stone-cold stupid.
I agree! People who make comments about people’s choice need to go away and get a better hobby and a life at that! Go away with ur uneducated statements! Hopefully you will never ever have a friend or family member who’s suffered!
If you don’t want to sound like a bitter cold person, don’t judge people that you don’t know.
And then there’s the typical stupid but my favorite one,
It’s just one drug for another. If your going to play god and judge, then stand back and just what the “drug” does to the person. Or should say for the person. And if you still think that, then I want to be you!!
It’s not a choice when you believe the doctor that us prescribing your medicine that you then become addicted to b/c they prescribed it way longer than they should have…knowing the person can get addicted. Not everyone who takes Suboxone are heroin addicts. Know what you’re talking about before you make an ignorant comment like that!
True that! Sorry if I implied that you had to be a heroine addict to be on Suboxone. I was just using it as an example about what it’s done to so many.
WOW Robin…wish I lived in your world of rainbows and unicorns because in the rest of our worlds we know a blanket statement such as yours shows extreme ignorance
Not everyone takes them because of that reason, it’s also prescribed for pain management , but thanks for your input
If you are not in this situation why are you looking at this class action? I could make assumptions about you. Please don’t speak about situations you know nothing about. Opioid addiction has ruined many people’s life. Go be a hater to people abusing children. Don’t judge…You might not like the lessons God will teach you.
Robin you obviously know very little about addiction. That’s the core problem, they suffer because the power of choice has been eliminated, gone, taken away leaving the destructive, progressive deterioration of a once whole and healthy person.
The worst thing to do if judge someone about drugs. So what’s your choice alcohol? Because that’s not any better. I’ve been on subs for 10 years yes it saved me but it’s way worse then pills. Hardest thing anyone will go through.
wow, that’s cold.i took medicine for real pain. never knowing it was so bad for me. even if someone made a bad choice and did take drugs, why so mean? people make mistakes.
My jaw was cracked open and I was spitting blood from my mouth for a week and dying in pain before I found a hospital that would do surgery on my jaw and wire it shut, but they made mistakes when wiring my jaw shut, and I had to go back under the knife and eventually had 4 surgeries just to get it wired shut properly. And was wired shut door 6 months, during the time in which I was living with a broken jaw, and the period of multiple surgeries and the first 3 months after the final surgery, I was in extreme pain, the kind of pain that made me want to just die, but doctors prescribed me roxecete a powerful opioid pain medication. I took the medication as prescribed for several months and have been severely addicted to opiates every day of my life since. So STFU you haven’t a clue.
Hello my name is Adam Oscar Keefe. I filed with with federal trade commission over this suboxone issue. And it’s about time someone did something. These over praised and over paid drug dealers have no idea the power they hold over people’s lives. It’s not about helping those of us who have struggled. It’s about that all mighty dollar. So I thank you for being part of this. If someone could contact me that would be great I have alot to offer as far as my journey with getting clean from a 30 year heroin addiction. Only to be hooked on buprenorphine still to this day. And they offer us no other alternative. Sorry for the ramble. NAMASTA.
Ashley Russell
Adam O Keefe my thoughts and prayers for you. I walk the journey as well. In 2013 I wrote letters to every company, person of power etc voicing the facts(as someone who lived and barely survived) Suboxone which I now refer to as the devils drug. When my doctors approached me with Suboxone, they happily and with much excitement called it the miracle drug. Bless you
People with crap health insurance are paying $600 a month. That’s sad people are trying to get better and they just want to make money. It’s about time
add me
Your an ugly soul! Why be so hateful and mean? God help
You and hope the bitterness isn’t you daily.. such a waste of someone’s life being so nasty to others!
If I purchased my Suboxone films for all those years, am I eligible to file a claim?
Glad they finally get a dose of Karma for all the expensive doses I’ve had to take over 5 and a half years (sorry 6 years as of July ).
While I’m sure R&B had good intentions at first ,greed soon followed and honestly that 60 mil (really 50mil as 10 is out of Indevor,which I’m pretty sure is a sattalite co of R&B)
This medication should be no more than 5$ a film for an 8/2 , and even then that’s a lot , but I still have to pay 11$ per film when not on Insurance (honestly my insurance didn’t even kick in until March if this year ,so I’ve paid close to 8 grand plus ! To stay opiate free.
Yes I work and function better than I ever had, but it’s a prison of doctor visits , treatment (out of any physical treatment , still a mental thing ) and pulling out my wallet!
I agree with every word!!!
I understand. I had several back to back orthopedic surgery. I had no idea what an effect this has had. It seems it’s all about money particularly with medication.
I am going to file directly w/the FTC since, according to your site, they can answer questions that you cannot and do so more quickly. Kindly cancel the application I just submitted.
Thank You.
It is the same application. You cannot file a claim more than once, and if you do that is FRAUD.
I agree. File directly with the FCC attorney. Too many middle-men. My concern is 60 million dollars is NOTHING compared to the 1.6 Billion dollar settlement the US Government received from Invidor! I should have never been placed on Suboxone, six years ago. And I’ve tried EVERYTHING to get off Suboxone. First they get you hooked on pain pills. Then they get you hooked on Suboxone. Until recently, I spent $800 a month on Suboxone for years! $60 Million is not enough! David Dalzell
Don’t agree with that statement, as not everyone is addicted. PROP minions are trying all over to get opioids decreased from the supply through their propaganda, which is crippling chronic pain patients. There are millions who take opioid pain medication responsibly and the corporate greed over the $$$$ this drug is bringIng in to Stockholders and owners of addiction clinics is astronomical, to the point that they have legislatures so brainwashed, that they are FORCING chronic pain patients off of medication that was allowing them to be functional, onto Buprenorphine and Suboxone, which is rendering them disfunctional.
I’m on buprenorphine for chronic pain. I spent a couple of years on many pain killers prescribed by my doctor. Then came the dreaded time I was kicked off due to the addicts. They ruined it for me. I spent 7 years without and crippling pain destroyed my life. I took a chance with buprenorphine and for ne it works. I can function physically without needing increasing. This is my pain management and my doctors are fine with it. To flip your lids, I’m on Xanax and muscle relaxers as well. All are my prescriptions. I don’t need Naloxone because I’m not an addict. I prefer these over conventional pain medication. I wish I didn’t have to take anything. During my time without medication I rarely had any help. I hold a lot of resentment towards addicts whom destroyed my life for the past 22 years preventing any pain management. I’ve paid a heavy price financially as well. I spent years not able to work while crippled with excruciating debilitating anxiety and depression and pain. I’m salty and I’m not sorry for it! I have nine (9) herniations. Degenerative disc disease and severe arthritis and muscle spasms. Buprenorphine is a Godsend. 50% less pain is phenomenal.
I also would have been better off going cold turkey instead of taking suboxone. The withdrawal is so much worse and goes on forever. Went thru withdrawal for 2 months and I still didn’t feel right. Doctors were misinformed or they lied.