Purdue Pharma and its principal owners the Sackler family have agreed to pay a $7.4 billion settlement to end federal court claims made by 15 states due to the opioid crisis fueled by OxyContin and other opioid drugs across the United States, but the settlement requires court approval to proceed. File Photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE
Jan. 23 (UPI) — The Sackler family and Purdue Pharma have agreed to pay a $7.4 billion settlement to end federal court claims filed by attorneys general on behalf of 15 states.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the settlement agreement on Thursday, but it must be approved in federal court.
“Purdue, under the Sacklers’ leadership, invented, manufactured and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling waves of addiction and overdose deaths across the country,” James said in a news release announcing the settlement.
“Families throughout New York and across the nation are suffering from the immense pain and loss wrought by the opioid crisis,” James said.
The settlement ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue Pharma and their ability to sell opioids in the United States.
It also provides communities across the country with funding over the next 15 years to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs.
“The Sackler family relentlessly pursued profit at the expense of vulnerable patients and played a critical role in starting and fueling the opioid epidemic,” James said. “The Sacklers no longer have control of Purdue [Pharma] and will never be allowed to sell opioids in the United States again.”
She said the settlement won’t cover the costs of all harm caused by the opioid crisis but will help local communities impacted by it to begin the healing process.
The settlement takes the place of a prior settlement agreement that the Supreme Court overturned in June with a 5-4 vote.
The court ruling said that settlement would have eliminated “vast numbers” of pending and potential claims against Purdue Pharma while enabling the Sackler family to retain many assets.
The prior settlement agreement also was not approved by people affected by Purdue Pharma’s marketing of its OxyContin and other opioid-based pain medications, the court ruled.
The current settlement agreement requires the Sackler family to pay $6.5 billion over 15 years while Purdue Pharma must pay a nearly $900 million settlement.
If the settlement receives federal court approval, the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma will pay $1.5 billion in the first payment within a year followed by $500 million after year one, another $500 million a year later and another $400 million after three years.
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