The U.K.-based pharmaceutical company said New York was the latest to join 47 other states and territories in backing the Feb. 25 settlement to close out claims that Mallinckrodt helped fuel an epidemic of painkiller addiction.
"We are pleased that New York State has joined the already 47 states and territories in supporting Mallinckrodt's proposed global opioid settlement, and view their support as an important step toward completing the settlement," Mallinckrodt's Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Casey said in a statement. "We remain committed to satisfying the terms of the agreement in principle."
When asked to explain the delay for supporting the deal or reasons for supporting it now, James' office declined to comment, but the attorney general said in a statement that "we are working alongside additional states and creditors to support a Mallinckrodt proposal that serves the interests of all our communities."
"One of our top priorities has to be getting money flowing to our communities for remediation as quickly as possible," James said. "We are determined to hold every company in our lawsuit responsible for their role ravaging countless communities in New York and across the nation."
The newfound support comes just a day after a highly anticipated trial pitting the New York attorney general against major drug companies was "postponed indefinitely" because of coronavirus concerns. While Mallinckrodt said Wednesday that it has asked the state Supreme Court to remove it from the now-derailed trial, that request is still pending.
Mallinckrodt's $1.6 billion deal, which will resolve all the cases against it, is the latest instance of an opioid manufacturer settling cases in the sprawling federal opioid litigation.
State attorneys general from Texas to North Carolina and California lined up behind the deal in which Mallinckrodt would pay $1.6 billion over eight years under the settlement reached in principle with the plaintiffs' executive committee that represents local governments in the litigation.
It's widely expected that the imminence of New York's trial is adding urgency to efforts to broker settlements, potentially on a nationwide scale. Defendants in the New York case include divisions of Johnson & Johnson, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Allergan Inc., McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc.
Mallinckrodt is represented by Latham & Watkins LLP, Ropes & Gray LLP and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
The MDL is In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, case number 1:17-md-02804, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
--Additional reporting by Emily Field and Jeff Overley. Editing by Haylee Pearl.
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