Cardinal Health Announces Civil Settlement with DOJ

Cardinal Health, a global healthcare services and products company, announced that it has reached a nationwide settlement with the Federal government, resolving the outstanding civil penalty portion of the company’s 2012 administrative settlement with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The 2012 settlement resulted in a two year suspension of Cardinal Health’s registration to distribute controlled substances from its Lakeland, Fla. distribution center, but did not at the time resolve the Government’s civil penalty claims.
 
Under this settlement, Cardinal Health has agreed to pay $44 million to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve this matter. The DOJ, including the DEA and the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the M.D. Florida, the Southern District of New York, the District of Maryland, and the W.D. Washington and all other districts across the country have agreed to take no further administrative or civil action on these and related matters. Cardinal Health had previously disclosed the civil fines claims and a related accrual of $44 million in its public securities filings.
 
“These agreements allow us to move forward and continue to focus on working with all participants in addressing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse,” said Craig Morford, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Cardinal Health. “To combat the scourge of opioid abuse successfully, this must be a collaborative effort that includes all parties—the regulators, who set and license supply; the manufacturers, who produce medications; the physicians, who treat patients and prescribe medications; and the pharmacists, who fill those prescriptions. Collectively, we must focus on combatting the ever-changing tactics employed by those determined to divert medications for illegitimate use. Cardinal Health is committed to working with both public and private partners to do our part and find solutions.”