States Sue British Suboxone Manufacturer

(Winter 2016) Thirty-five states plus the District of Columbia have filed suit against a British drug company, claiming it attempted to withhold cheaper, generic forms of Suboxone (an opioid addiction treatment medication) from distribution. The states’ attorneys general allege that in 2002, the company, Indivior, obtained exclusive rights to market the drug for seven years. When the contract expired, Indivior partnered with another firm to create an oral strip version of the drug, which was touted as safer than the pill form. State attorneys general accuse both drug manufacturers of participating in a “product-hopping” attempt to thwart other companies from making similar drugs, producing a monopoly on Suboxone, and reaping close to a billion dollars in profits.

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