Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and the Sackler family have agreed to a $7.4 billion settlement to address lawsuits related to the opioid crisis. This deal surpasses a previous agreement and includes significant contributions from the Sacklers and the company itself. The settlement aims to compensate victims, abate the crisis, and fund treatment and overdose rescue medications.
Members of the family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma , and the company itself, agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion in a new settlement to lawsuits over the toll of the powerful prescription painkiller, the attorneys general from several states announced Thursday. The deal, agreed to by Purdue Pharma , the Sackler family members who own the company and lawyers representing state and local governments and thousands of victims of the opioid crisis, replaces a previous one.
In the new one, the Sacklers agreed to pay up to $6.5 billion and give up ownership of the company, which would pay nearly $900 million. The maximum contribution from family members is $500 million more than the previous deal. It’s among the largest settlements reached over the past several years in a series of lawsuits by local, state, Native American tribal governments and others seeking to hold companies responsible for a deadly epidemic. Aside from the Purdue deal, others worth around $50 billion have been announced — and most of the money is required to be used for abatement of the opioid crisis. The deal still needs court approval, and some of the details are yet to be ironed out. An arm of the federal Department of Justice opposed the previous settlement, even after every state agreed, and took the battle to the U.S. Supreme Court. But under President Donald Trump, the federal government is not expected to oppose the new deal. “We are extremely pleased that a new agreement has been reached that will deliver billions of dollars to compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis, and deliver treatment and overdose rescue medicines that will save lives,” Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue said in a statement. Kara Trainor, a Michigan woman in recovery for 17 years, said she became addicted to opioids after receiving a prescription for OxyContin to deal with a back injury 23 years ago, praised the deal.“While no amount of money will ever fully repair the damage they caused, this massive influx of funds will bring resources to communities in need so that we can heal,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. Joining James in reaching the deal were the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. Not every state has signed on yet. A spokesperson for Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, said the office is still reviewing the deal and weighing its options. Under the new proposal, like the previous one, members of the Sackler family would also give up ownership of Purdue, They've already stepped down from the company's board and have not taken distributions from Purdue since before the bankruptcy filing. The company would become a new entity with its board appointed by states and others who sued the company. A portion of the money is also to go to victims of the opioid crisis or their survivors — something that most opioid settlements do not include. The deal also includes as much as $800 million set aside to pay for future settlements if new lawsuits arise against the Sacklers, according to the New York attorney general’s office.blocked the earlier agreement last year because it protected members of the wealthy family from civil lawsuits over OxyContin — even though the family members themselves were not in bankruptcy. The new agreement protects family members from lawsuits only from entities that agree to the settlement. There’s been mediation seeking a new deal since the court’s ruling was delivered. If one is not reached, it could A court order blocking lawsuits against Sackler family members is set to expire Friday, but the parties are asking a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to keep that in place through February to work out the final details. The deadline has already been extended several times. A few governments, including the states of Maryland and Washington, have routinely opposed the extensions.opioid crisis that some experts assert began after the blockbuster painkiller OxyContin hit the market in 1996. Since then, opioids have been linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. The deadliest stretch has been since 2020, whenaround the world because of their role in the privately held company. They’ve continued to deny claims of any wrongdoing. Collectively, family members have been estimated to be worth billions more than they'd contribute in the settlement, but much of the wealth is in offshore accounts and might be impossible to access through lawsuits. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat, said the settlement will be a big hit to the personal wealth of the Sackler family, but not financial ruin for them. “This is about families impacted by this crisi
OPIOID CRISIS PURDUE PHARMA SACKLER FAMILY SETTLEMENT OXYCONTIN
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