Endo International PLC (Endo) Tuesday agreed to pay $65 million to settle all Florida governmental opioid-related cases and claims, preventing pending claims against the specialty pharmaceutical company from going to trial.
Endo settled just in time to prevent claims against its subsidiaries from going to trial in April. Endo highlighted that the “settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing, fault or liability of any kind by Endo or its subsidiaries.” Upon paying the settlement amount, Endo and two of its subsidiaries, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Endo Health Solutions Inc., will fully resolve Florida’s pending opioid-related claims. Endo will continue litigating other claims not covered by this settlement agreement.
Pharmaceutical companies continue to face ongoing backlash through numerous lawsuits stemming from the opioid crisis. Just last month a New York jury found opioid manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals USA liable for public nuisance after it inundated the state with pills, killing thousands of people. Prior to that, the Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed a $465 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson for public nuisance through its statewide prescription opioid marketing campaign.
Last year Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for its marketing of OxyContin and other opioid products, admitting its tactics contributed to the nation’s opioid epidemic. But in a separate case last year, the family that owns Purdue gained immunity from future opioid lawsuits when a federal judge approved a bankruptcy settlement to resolve thousands of suits.
Following its recent settlement, Endo shared that it continues “to pursue settlements that it believes are in its best interests while remaining focused on its primary goal of achieving a global settlement.” It added that the company “is exploring other strategic alternatives, and may seek to implement one or more of those alternatives in the event it is unable to achieve a global settlement.”