Endo International stock shoots up 50% as it settles opioid claims

Endo International plc (NASDAQ: ENDP) climbed more than 50% this morning after it said late on Thursday it will pay $50 million to settle opioid claims by the New York state and its Suffolk and Nassau counties.

“I’m happy our clients can get closure, and it has kept Endo out of bankruptcy, that would have hurt everyone,” said Hunter Shkolnik, a lawyer for Nassau County.

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The announcement comes shortly after McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health said they will resolve opioid claims against them with a proposed national $26 billion settlement.

Endo did not admit to wrongdoing, fault, or liability

Despite the settlement that helped the drugmaker step out of the ongoing trial, Endo or its subsidiaries did not admit to wrongdoing, fault, or liability, the company said in a press release.

“While litigation of the remaining opioid claims is ongoing, Endo is focused on its primary goal of achieving a global settlement. Endo is also currently exploring other strategic alternatives and may seek to implement one or more of those alternatives in the event it is unable to achieve a global settlement.”

Claims against other companies are still pending

Claims against other companies, including Teva Pharmaceutical and AbbVie, are still pending. The spokesperson for New York’s Attorney General hasn’t yet made an official comment on the news.

In 2017, Tennessee local governments had also sued Endo on behalf of “a child allegedly born addicted to painkillers”. Earlier this year, the drugmaker agreed to pay $35 million to settle that lawsuit as well. The American-Irish drugmaker had generated more than 93% of its sales from the U.S. healthcare system in that year.