Bankrupt Endo says US government objections imperil $600 million in opioid settlements

[July 27, 2023]  By Dietrich Knauth

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bankrupt drugmaker Endo International said on Wednesday the federal government's opposition to its bankruptcy sale threatened to undo nearly $600 million in settlements reached with states and people afflicted by the U.S. opioid crisis.

Endo filed for bankruptcy in August 2022, seeking to address its $8 billion debt load and to settle thousands of lawsuits over allegations of its role in the opioid epidemic.

Endo is planning to sell itself to its senior lender group, which is owed nearly $6 billion and which includes investment firms Oaktree Capital Management, Silver Point Capital, and Bain Capital.

Those lenders have agreed to fund the opioid settlements that Endo reached as it entered bankruptcy, committing $465 million to U.S. states, $119.7 million to people affected by opioid addiction, and $11.5 million to a trust for future opioid claimants, according to Endo's court filings.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has objected to Endo's proposed sale, saying that it violates U.S. bankruptcy law because it would pay some creditors, like the opioid claimants, while leaving nothing for other creditors including federal government agencies.

The U.S. government has asserted over $7 billion in claims against Endo for purported tax debts, a DOJ criminal investigation into Endo's opioid marketing, and the federal government's possible overpayment for Endo medications.

Tablets of the opioid-based Hydrocodone at a pharmacy in Portsmouth, Ohio, June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston//File Photo

Endo argued that selling the company to its lenders is the only option - the company has been negotiating with potential buyers for years, but none has offered enough to fully repay Endo's existing debts.

Because the lenders will be funding the opioid settlements, Endo itself is not improperly picking and choosing which creditors get paid, the company argued. It would be "truly unfortunate" if the government's objections upended the settlements that could mitigate some of the harms of the opioid addiction crisis in the U.S., Endo wrote in its court filings.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Endo's filings.

Before filing for bankruptcy, Endo paid $242 million to settle opioid lawsuits, reaching deals with the eight U.S. states. But it still faced over 3,100 other opioid lawsuits, and had spent approximately $344 million on opioid defense costs, according to court filings.

More than 600,000 people in the U.S. have died from opioid overdoses over the last two decades. Litigation against drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies has resulted in more than $50 billion in total opioid settlements nationwide.

Endo will ask a U.S. bankruptcy judge to approve the sale and overrule the DOJ objections at an Aug. 4 court hearing.

(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; editing by Grant McCool)

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