Purdue Pharma and Sacklers reach new $7.4bn settlement over opioids crisis [View all]

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Thu 23 Jan 2025 13.34 EST
First published on Thu 23 Jan 2025 12.15 EST


The Sackler family, which owns the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, has agreed to pay up to $7.4bn in a settlement to lawsuits arising from the opioid epidemic. The sprawling deal, agreed between Purdue Pharma, Sackler family members involved in its ownership, thousands of victims of the opioid crisis, and state and local governments, is among the largest settlements of its kind.

Under the terms of the deal, which still needs to be approved in court, members of the Sackler family would contribute up to $7.4bn over 15 years. They would also relinquish control of Purdue, which developed and patented the highly addictive OxyContin in 1996, and the company would become a new entity with its board appointed by states and others who sued the company.

The money will be spread among victims of the opioid crisis or their survivors and state and local governments, with the money to be used to attempt to stem the decades-long epidemic. Purdue sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 as it faced thousands of lawsuits over the opioid crisis. Among the claims are that the company targeted doctors with a message that the addiction risk to the powerful painkillers was low.

“This story is about a family of cruel billionaires who believed they were above the law, pursued by states who never backed down. Today, we are forcing Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family to pay $7.4 billion for their role in igniting one of the most devastating public health crises in American history,” William Tong, the Connecticut attorney general, said in a statement.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/purdue-pharma-sackler-lawsuit