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 Rochester Drug Co-Operative Inc (RDC) announced the decision after
agreeing last April to settle the charges by paying a $20 million
fine and accepting independent monitoring, under a five-year
deferred prosecution agreement.
RDC, one of the 10 largest U.S. drug distributors, said controlled
pharmaceuticals represent a relatively small percentage of its sales
but "significant legal and compliance expenses," and that those
costs are "simply not sustainable."
The Rochester, New York-based company will keep distributing
non-controlled, generic and private label drugs, as well as
healthcare supplies. It said it serves 1,300 retail pharmacies,
long-term care pharmacies and home healthcare stores.
In settling with the government, RDC admitted to having distributed
oxycodone, fentanyl and other controlled substances to pharmacies
despite internal "red flags" that they would be used improperly.
Opioids have contributed to more than 400,000 deaths since 1997,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal probe of whether several
drug companies intentionally allowed large quantities of opioids to
be shipped, contributing to the nationwide crisis.
At least two distributors, AmerisourceBergen Corp and McKesson Corp,
have said in regulatory filings that they have been in
communications with prosecutors' offices.
RDC's former chief executive, Laurence Doud, pleaded not guilty last
April to criminal charges of conspiring to both distribute illegal
drugs and defraud the government.
Jeff Eller, an RDC spokesman, said it is premature to discuss
implementation of the deferred prosecution agreement.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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