In 2019, Reckitt Benckiser Group agreed to pay $1.4 billion to resolve potential criminal and civil liability over Suboxone marketing, including $647 million in forfeiture and $700 million in civil settlements. The government’s civil claims—including alleged misleading promotion and efforts to delay generic competition—were allegations only; the settlement made no determination of liability. Indivior had been spun off in 2014.
Global consumer goods conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB Group) has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to resolve its potential criminal and civil liability related to a federal investigation of the marketing of the opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone. The resolution – the largest recovery by the United States in a case concerning an opioid drug – includes the forfeiture of proceeds totaling $647 million, civil settlements with the federal government and the states totaling $700 million, and an administrative resolution with the Federal Trade Commission for $50 million.
Under the civil settlement, RB Group has agreed to pay a total of $700 million to resolve claims that the marketing of Suboxone caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs. The $700 million settlement amount includes $500 million to the federal government and up to $200 million to states that opt to participate in the agreement. The claims settled by the civil agreement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
In July 2020, Indivior Solutions pleaded guilty to a felony charge of making false statements to Massachusetts Medicaid about Suboxone Film’s risk of accidental child exposure. Indivior entities agreed to pay $600 million in criminal and civil resolutions; the related civil settlement resolved allegations, not findings of liability.
Under the civil settlement, Indivior Inc. and Indivior plc have agreed to pay a total of $300 million to resolve claims that the marketing of Suboxone caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs. The $300 million settlement amount includes approximately $209.3 million to the federal government and $90.7 million to states that opt to participate in the agreement.
Indivior Solutions pleaded guilty today to a one-count felony criminal information charging false statements relating to health care matters. In connection with its guilty plea, Indivior Solutions admitted to making false statements to promote the film version of Suboxone (Suboxone Film) to the Massachusetts Medicaid program (MassHealth) relating to the safety of Suboxone Film around children. The resolution includes a criminal fine, forfeiture, and restitution totaling $289 million. On June 30, 2020, Indivior plc’s former CEO Shaun Thaxter pleaded guilty to a one-count misdemeanor information related to Indivior’s false and misleading representations to MassHealth.
In 2019, Reckitt Benckiser Group agreed to a $700 million multistate settlement resolving allegations of improper Suboxone marketing and resulting Medicaid expenditures. Connecticut reported $18.8 million in total recoveries, while Missouri reported a $4,354,401.58 combined federal-and-state share, including $1,458,823.01 for the state.
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong joined attorneys general nationwide in announcing a $700 million agreement between states, the U.S. Department of Justice and pharmaceutical distributor Reckitt Benckiser Group to settle allegations that the company violated the federal and state False Claims Act by improperly marketing and promoting the drug Suboxone, resulting in improper expenditures of state Medicaid funds.
Jefferson City, Mo. - Today, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with several other states, announced a multi-state settlement with pharmaceutical distributor Reckitt Benckiser for improperly marketing and otherwise promoting the drug Suboxone, resulting in improper expenditures of state Medicaid funds. Missouri's share of the settlement is $4,354,401.58 federal and state combined with $1,458,823.01 directly to the State.
In July 2020, Indivior Solutions pleaded guilty to a felony information, and it and parent companies Indivior Inc. and Indivior plc agreed to pay $600 million to resolve criminal and civil liability concerning Suboxone marketing. The Justice Department said this followed a separate $1.4 billion 2019 resolution with former parent Reckitt Benckiser Group.
Indivior Solutions today pleaded guilty to a one-count felony information and, together with its parent companies Indivior Inc. and Indivior plc, agreed to pay a total of $600 million to resolve criminal and civil liability associated with the marketing of the opioid-addiction-treatment drug Suboxone. Together with a $1.4 billion resolution with Indivior’s former parent, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RB Group), announced in 2019, and a plea agreement with Indivior plc’s former CEO, Shaun Thaxter, announced last month, the total resolution relating to the marketing of Suboxone is more than $2 billion — the largest-ever resolution in a case brought by the Department of Justice involving an opioid drug.
The FTC alleged Reckitt shifted prescriptions to Suboxone Film and misrepresented its safety to hinder generics. Reckitt agreed to pay $50 million and accept restrictions; the FTC later reported nearly $60 million returned to consumers. Separately, a 2014 judge let direct purchasers’ antitrust claims proceed, while dismissing some other claims.
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc has agreed to pay $50 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the antitrust laws through a deceptive scheme to thwart lower-priced generic competition to its branded drug Suboxone. According to the complaint, before the generic versions of Suboxone tablets became available, Reckitt and its former subsidiary Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, now known as Indivior, Inc., developed a dissolvable oral film version of Suboxone and worked to shift prescriptions to this patent-protected film. Worried that doctors and patients would not want to switch to Suboxone Film, Reckitt allegedly employed a “product hopping” scheme where the company misrepresented that the film version of Suboxone was safer than Suboxone tablets because children are less likely to be accidentally exposed to the film product. Invidior has agreed to pay an additional $10 million to settle FTC charges.
Law360, New York (December 4, 2014, 7:01 PM ET) -- A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday trimmed a multidistrict class action against Reckitt Benckiser Inc. but said direct purchasers of the drug sufficiently backed their claim that the drugmaker used an anti-competitive “product-hopping” scheme to keep generic rivals to its opiate addiction treatment Suboxone off the market.
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc has agreed to pay $50 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the antitrust laws through a deceptive scheme to thwart lower-priced generic competition to its branded drug Suboxone. According to the complaint, before the generic versions of Suboxone tablets became available, Reckitt and its former subsidiary Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, now known as Indivior, Inc., developed a dissolvable oral film version of Suboxone and worked to shift prescriptions to this patent-protected film. Worried that doctors and patients would not want to switch to Suboxone Film, Reckitt allegedly employed a “product hopping” scheme where the company misrepresented that the film version of Suboxone was safer than Suboxone tablets because children are less likely to be accidentally exposed to the film product. Indivior has agreed to pay an additional $10 million to settle FTC charges. On May 10, 2021, the FTC announced that it sent nearly $60 million in payments to consumers who were victims of the scheme.
Under a separate agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), RB Group has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve claims that it engaged in unfair methods of competition in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 53(b). The FTC is filing a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia alleging anticompetitive activities by RB Group designed to impede competition from generic equivalents of Suboxone. RB Group no longer manufactures or markets drug products. As part of a consent decree, RB Group agreed that it would notify the FTC if it began marketing drug products in the United States. RB Group further agreed that if it filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA in connection with a drug product, it would simultaneously disclose to both the FDA and the FTC all studies and data relevant to that Citizen Petition. RB Group further agreed not to withdraw a drug from the market or otherwise disadvantage a drug after obtaining approval to market another drug containing the same active ingredient.
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc has agreed to pay $50 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the antitrust laws through a deceptive scheme to thwart lower-priced generic competition to its branded drug Suboxone. Suboxone is a prescription oral medication used to minimize withdrawal symptoms in patients recovering from opioid addiction.
Under a separate agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Indivior has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve claims that it engaged in unfair methods of competition in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 53(b). The FTC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia alleging anticompetitive activities by Indivior designed to impede competition from generic equivalents of Suboxone. As part of a consent decree, Indivior agreed that it would notify the FTC if it filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA in connection with a drug product, it would simultaneously disclose to both the FDA and the FTC all studies and data relevant to that Citizen Petition. Indivior further agreed not to withdraw a drug from the market or otherwise disadvantage a drug after obtaining approval to market another drug containing the same active ingredient.
On June 15, 2026, Reuters reported that an Illinois appeals court reversed a $60 million verdict against Reckitt unit Mead Johnson and ordered a new trial. The court said the jury was wrongly instructed about whom Mead Johnson had a duty to warn. The mother’s lawsuit alleged the formula caused her infant son’s fatal NEC; Mead Johnson disputes that claim.
The companies have said that while breast milk protects against NEC, their formulas do not cause it and that the benefits of breast milk have long been known to clinicians.
A July 2026 report said a St. Louis jury cleared Reckitt subsidiary Mead Johnson in a case alleging it concealed NEC risks from premature-infant formula. Separately, the 2024 $60 million verdict for a mother was reversed and sent for retrial. In August 2026, another jury found for Mead Johnson, the company said.
The verdict Thursday is the latest defense win in a flood of lawsuits alleging Reckitt’s Mead Johnson subsidiary knew its cow-milk-based Enfamil formula can cause a sometimes-fatal bowel disease called necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, and marketed the specialized preterm hospital product anyway.
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc shares rebounded after a US jury sided with the company in a bellwether trial among a group of cases alleging that formula for premature babies is linked to a deadly bowel disease.
A 2026 report said Reckitt agreed to sell its Russian hygiene arm to Arnest Management, with no financial terms disclosed. The business accounted for around 1% of Reckitt’s 2025 net revenue. The report said EU sanctions changes had weighed on locally produced cleaning and germ-protection products and the unit’s sales.
The maker of Durex condoms and Mucinex cold medicine said Friday that it was selling the Russian hygiene unit to Arnest Management. It didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal, but said the business represented around 1% of Reckitt’s net revenue in 2025.
OpenSecrets lists $4,310 in contributions associated with Reckitt Benckiser plc and $91,604 from its workers, dating back to 1990. The figures concern individual contributions, not donations by the company itself.
OpenSecrets reports $580,000 in lobbying spending for Reckitt Benckiser plc in 2021. The source does not specify the issues lobbied on or provide further detail about the spending.
OpenSecrets says Reckitt Benckiser’s organization itself did not donate: individual members, employees, owners and their immediate family members supplied the listed political contributions. It reports $17,533 in individual contributions, with none from the organization, and a separate $7,275,323 lobbying figure; the source does not clarify its period.
On October 6, 2021, the EPA announced that Reckitt Benckiser, LLC would pay a $458,000 civil penalty to resolve violations involving two rodenticide products. The agency said their packaging made unapproved comparative-effectiveness claims unsupported by submitted data, and the company sold products with improper claims on 239 occasions.
During a 2019 investigation, which included inspections of a Home Depot in South Plainfield, N.J, and Reckitt Benckiser’s offices in Parsippany, N.J., EPA determined that Reckitt Benckiser was selling two rodenticide products designed to poison mice; the products were sold in packages or with labels making comparative claims as to the effectiveness of the product. The labels EPA approved for the two products did not contain the comparative claim language, and at the time of registration, data associated with the products’ claims were never provided. Because the comparative claims were not subject to verification, they were “false and misleading comparisons” prohibited under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). EPA’s investigation found that the company had sold one or both of these products with shipping containers bearing the improper advertising claim on 239 separate occasions.
A proposed class action alleged Reckitt Benckiser LLP collected and shared consumers’ personal information despite promising an opt-out from online tracking. On July 31, 2026, a federal judge ruled the plaintiffs had not established standing or adequately pleaded their claims, defeating the suit; the article is dated August 3, 2026.
Reckitt Benckiser LLP defeated a proposed class action alleging it collected and shared consumers’ personal information with third parties despite promising they could opt out of online data tracking.
OpenSecrets listed Reckitt Benckiser plc’s lobbying spending as $580,000 in 2021 and $550,000 in 2022. The evidence does not specify which issues the lobbying concerned.