Reckitt Settles Multistate Suboxone Claims for $700 Million

Reckitt Benckiser (RB Group) agreed to pay $700 million to settle multiple lawsuits filed by states in federal courts over marketing practices for its addiction treatment drug Suboxone (buprenorphine).

The settlement will resolve various civil fraud claims impacting Medicaid and other government healthcare programs and will include $400 million in restitution to state Medicaid programs, according to state officials involved in the negotiations.

Multiple states accused RB Group and its former subsidiary Indivior of falsely promoting Suboxone sublingual film as less susceptible to diversion and abuse than other buprenorphine products, and less susceptible to accidental pediatric exposure than tablets.

The group was also accused of fraudulently discontinuing the Suboxone tablet formulation in Sept. 2012, as well as delaying generic competition for Suboxone to control the drug’s pricing.

The settlement negotiations were led by the attorneys general of New York, California, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and Washington.