Indiana Acquires $4.3M Settlement Against Suboxone Distributor

Indiana Acquires $4.3M Settlement Against Suboxone Distributor

Introduction

Indiana and the pharmaceutical distributor Indivior have entered a settlement of $4.3 million over allegations that the company was involved in improper marketing and sales of drug Suboxone, a drug approved for use by recovering opioid addicts.

According to the allegations surfaced in six whistleblower lawsuits, dishonest statements from the company and aggressive marketing tactics resulted in inappropriate expenditures of Medicaid funds. The attorney stated that earlier Indivior claimed that it will help to eradicate the problem of drug addiction in the country, but the company's actions have failed the cause.

Suboxone is used while undergoing treatment to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms among recovering opioid addicts. However, buprenorphine which is an active ingredient of Suboxone is harmful and addictive that leads to opioid abuse.

Indiana and other states have alleged Indivior of engaging in three types of fraudulent activity from 2010 through 2015.

• The company encouraged physicians to write prescriptions about Suboxone for unaccepted medical purposes.
• It even falsely claimed that the new form of Suboxone that dissolves under the tongue is less harmful than other buprenorphine products.
• The company controlled the pricing of Suboxone and fraudulently delayed the entry of generic competition into the market by submitting false pretences to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Indivior will pay $300 million to settle civil fraud allegations that have impacted Medicaid and other government healthcare programs. $203.7 million from the settlement amount will go to go to Medicaid. Last year, the company and several of its officers were sentenced for deceptive marketing of Suboxone.

Settlement negotiations were looked upon by a team of the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units. The team consisted of officials from the Offices of the Attorney General for Indiana and five other states. The attorney general of the lawsuit thanked the team for investigation and settlement in the matter.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contributes 75% of the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit's funds. The State of Indiana contributes the remaining 25% of funds.