Lawyers and federal agencies are arguing that Malvern-based drug maker Endo is still profiting from the disgraced oxymorphone pill also known as Opana ER. Back in August, Endo filed for bankruptcy due to having 3,100 opioid lawsuits and billions of dollars in debt, writes Bob Fernandez for The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

Endo’s oxymorphone patent doesn’t expire until 2029. Back in 2017, the Food and Drug Administration asked Endo to take Opana off the market. Endo complied a month later, but at the same time made an agreement with asset management company Impax. 

The deal required Impax to pay Endo a royalty “equal to a percentage of Impax’s oxymorphone ER’s profits.” The stipulation was that Endo would not introduce a competing pill or license patents to other drug companies.  

An anti-trust lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission estimates that Endo made $265 million from the agreement. It also argues that this pact has increased the prices of oxymorphone. Endo said that it doesn’t manufacture Opana ER or is in control of what Impax decides to do with the pill. The drug company also said that it makes money just from intellectual property royalties.  

However, critics disagree with this practice. Rutgers Law professor Michael Carrier said that Endo does “not have to behave like this. They choose to because it’s easier to continue monopoly profits than it is to find the next big innovation.” 

Read more about the lawsuits against the Malvern-based drug company in The Philadelphia Inquirer.