Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a bipartisan group of attorneys general, today announced a $150 million multistate settlement agreement in principle with opioid manufacturer Hikma Pharmaceuticals (Hikma) for its role in fueling the opioid crisis. Raoul’s office also announced today a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid epidemic.
Hikma produces a range of generic opioid products and sells hundreds of millions of opioid doses every year. The attorneys general allege that from 2006 to 2021, Hikma failed to monitor and report suspicious opioid orders from potentially illegal distributors, even as personnel knew their systems to monitor suspicious orders were inadequate and prone to failure. Once finalized, the settlement will provide up to $115 million in cash and $35 million in opioid addiction treatment medication to resolve claims brought by states and local communities against Hikma.
“Too many families have lost loved ones to the opioid epidemic, and too many people have lost years of their lives to addiction,” Raoul said. “The companies that created and fueled this crisis must be held accountable for providing treatment and recovery resources to help those who suffer from opioid addiction. This settlement builds on the important progress we’ve already achieved through settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors.”
This settlement is the latest of Attorney General Raoul’s ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic and hold accountable companies whose deceptive practices increased opioid prescriptions at the expense of public health. It comes after multiple national settlements Raoul’s office has reached with opioid manufacturers and sellers. Currently, Illinois expects to receive more than $1.3 billion in settlement funds by 2038. Once the Hikma settlement is final, funds to Illinois will be allocated according to the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement negotiated by Raoul’s office.
The settlement in principle was negotiated by the attorneys general of New York, California, Delaware, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia in coordination with an executive committee consisting of Raoul with the attorneys general of Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon.
Attorney General Raoul urges anyone who believes they or a loved one may be addicted to opioids to seek help by calling the Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substances at 833-2FINDHELP, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
