Hikma to pay $150M opioid settlement to states, localities

Hikma opioid settlement overview: 

• Who: Hikma Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $150 million to end claims it helped fuel the opioid crisis. 
• Why: A group of states and localities claimed Hikma failed to report suspicious opioid orders made by potentially illegal distributors. 
• Where: The settlement stems from multidistrict litigation in Ohio federal court. 

Hikma Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $150 million to end its part of claims it exacerbated the opioid crisis by allegedly failing to report suspicious opioid orders made by potentially illegal distributors.

The Hikma settlement, which includes $115 million in cash and another $35 million worth of either opioid addiction treatment medication or cash, ends claims brought against Hikma by a group of states and localities, according to the Office of the New York State Attorney General. 

“While this settlement won’t fully repair the devastation opioids have caused, the funds we secured will help combat the crisis of addictions and overdoses, and help people across the country get the treatment they need,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. 

Hikma, meanwhile, said the agreement — which was negotiated by James as well as the attorneys general in California, Delaware, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia — ends the “vast majority” of opioid-related claims made by states, their subdivisions and tribal nations, according to Law360. 

Settlement ends claims Hikma failed to monitor suspicious opioid orders over 15 years

The attorneys general argued Hikma failed to monitor and report suspicious opioid orders made from 2006 to 2021, all the while allegedly knowing its systems that were in place to monitor such activity were inadequate. 

“Hikma was part of an industry that flooded the country with dangerous opioids, profiting off the products that have caused our current national public health crisis,” James said. 

Hikma’s general counsel said it was pleased with the framework of the agreement and that the deal will “directly support state and local efforts in addressing the impact of the opioid crisis in their communities,” Law360 reports. 

Kroger agreed in September to pay around $1.4 billion to end claims brought against it by state and local governments and Native American tribes arguing the company failed to scrutinize suspicious opioid prescriptions. 

Have you been affected by the opioid crisis? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, Joseph F. Rice of Motley Rice LLC and Paul T. Farrell Jr. of Farrell & Fuller.

The Hikma opioid settlement is In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, Case No. 1:17-md-02804, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Johnson & Johnson to pay $150M in Washington opioid settlement
• Supreme Court to review Sackler immunity in Purdue bankruptcy
• Indivior reaches $385M settlement with direct purchasers over Suboxone
• Opioid sales fell by half from 2010-2019, DEA data shows