Endo International — based in Dublin, Ireland, with a U.S. headquarters in Malvern — has hired a financial restructuring firm to navigate its current legal morass. The pharmaceutical giant’s troubles stem from thousands of opioid-related lawsuits, writes Alexander Gladstone for The Wall Street Journal.

The company has tapped consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal Holdings to advise on available options. Possible measures include a balance-sheet restructuring.

That strategy would serve dual purposes, addressing Endo’s liability lawsuits that allege it contributed to the opioid crisis and its more than $8 billion in debt.

There are nearly 3,000 legal cases over opioids pending against the pharmaceutical company from states, counties, cities, and Native American tribes. There are also over 300 lawsuits from hospitals, health systems, and unions — as well as health or welfare funds.

The news sent the company’s stock plummeting 40 percent on the day of the announcement.

Endo said it stopped promoting opioid products to the healthcare industry in 2017. It also reported its elimination of the entire sales force related to that line of business.

Endo also voluntarily withdrew Opana, its opioid pain medication, from the market. And the firm ceased the research and development of new opioid products.

Read more about Endo International in The Wall Street Journal.