Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings announces two settlements with companies for their roles in the opioid epidemic.
Jennings announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health – a global marketing and communication firm – for its role in the prescription opioid crisis.
Delaware will receive over $1.5 million from that settlement to help address the opioid crisis.
The company in agreeing to the settlement recognizes the harm it caused, and it will disclose on a public website thousands of internal documents detailing its work for companies like Purdue Pharma.
It will also stop accepting client work related to opioid-based Schedule II or other Schedule II narcotics.
Jennings also announced a $150 million multistate settlement with opioid manufacturer Hikma Pharmaceuticals for its role in fueling the opioid crisis.
Hikma produces branded and generic opioid products and sells hundreds of millions of opioid doses every year.
Hikma failed to monitor and report suspicious opioid orders from potentially illegal distributors from 2006 to 2021 even though its personnel knew their systems to monitor suspicious orders were prone to failure and inadequate.
In this settlement, Hikma will pay $115 million in cash and $35 million worth of opioid addiction treatment medication to the participating states and localities.
