Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has reached an agreement with 15 states that could lead to a $4.5 billion settlement for opioid cases.
Purdue and the family that owns it, the Sacklers, are accused of engaging in illegal activities to boost the sales of OxyContin, a prescription opioid. Over 500,000 people have died from opioid overdoses in the United States.
The states agreed late Wednesday night to drop their opposition to Purdue’s bankruptcy plan. Purdue agreed to concessions that will be added to a proposal that will be voted on by over 3,000 plaintiffs, including state, local, and tribal governments seeking to hold the pharmaceutical maker responsible for its role in the opioid epidemic.
The deal will likely be approved by a judge next month and will probably preclude criminal charges being brought against the Sackler family.
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New York is one of the states that approved the deal.
“For nearly two years, since Purdue Pharma declared bankruptcy, the company and the Sackler family have used every delay tactic possible and misused the courts — all in an effort to shield their misconduct,” Letitia James, attorney general of New York, said, according to the New York Times. “While this deal is not perfect, we are delivering $4.5 billion into communities ravaged by opioids on an accelerated timetable and it gets one of the nation’s most harmful drug dealers out of the opioid business once and for all.”
The Sackler family will have nine years to pay out the $4.5 billion. The agreement also requires the Sacklers and Purdue to pay $225 million in a civil settlement to the U.S. Justice Department and to release 33 million documents.
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In a statement to NPR, the spokesperson for the Sackler family said, “This resolution to the mediation is an important step toward providing substantial resources for people and communities in need.”
