Illinois could receive up to $23 million from settlements with multiple pharmaceutical companies that used deceptive practices to increase opioid prescriptions, aggravating the nationwide opioid crisis.
The settlements totaling $720 million are between nine states and eight pharmaceutical companies, with each company paying different amounts over varying periods, Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office announced Thursday.
"As long as Illinois families continue to experience the devastating impacts of opioid addiction, my office will continue to work with other attorneys general to hold companies responsible for fueling the opioid crisis," Raoul said in a statement. "I am proud of the resources we have obtained to help families and communities mitigate the impacts of opioid use disorder, which are not limited to any one state, community or socioeconomic group."
The other states in line to receive payments are California, Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.
These manufacturers will pay the following amounts to be split between the states:
Mylan (now part of Viatris): $284,447,916 over nine yearsHikma: $95,818,293 over one to four yearsAmneal: $71,751,010 over 10 yearsApotex: $63,682,369 in one yearIndivior: $38,022,450 over four yearsSun: $30,992,087 over one to four yearsAlvogen: $18,680,162 in one yearZydus: $14,859,220 in one yearUnder the agreement, seven of those companies are prohibited from promoting opioid products, and from making or selling products that contain more than 40 mg of oxycodone per pill. They also must actively monitor and report suspicious orders.
Virginia-based Indivior will not manufacture or sell any opioid products over the next 10 years, according to the settlement, though it is allowed to market and sell medications that treat opioid use disorder.
States may also receive free pharmaceutical products, or they may collect cash instead of the products.
Illinois has so far collected about $1.4 billion of the roughly $50 billion in nationwide settlements from investigations and litigation with pharmaceutical companies, Raoul's office said.
Between 1999 and 2022, roughly 725,000 people died from opioid overdose in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
